O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Disclaimer O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
X-Men Evolution and it's Characters do not belong to me. I'm writing this for pure fun and selfish reasons; those being that I want to see all my crack ships do very very naughty things ;)
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O AN O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Another month, another chapter! Thanks for patiently waiting!
Thank you so much: Clamchick (I'm Really excited about the past events I have lined up so hopefully they'll be worth the wait! I find it very humorous that Xietro is the very calm pair this time around as well XD I loved all your romy guesses XD All good ;) it's going to keep being slow but believe me when I say it will be worth it! Thanks so much for your continued support!), MisdirectionSmoothie, RogueQueen69 and Ava Fay for reviewing! You guys make this story happen!
Well you guys waited long enough after that slight cliffhanger! Here you are! Hope you guys enjoy this one ;)
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Chapter 7 O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
/We rise, then we dissolve
It's a deep black crush
It's a pale blue love/
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"She has her days," Pietro answered with a smirk before looking at the hostess and nodding at her excusing her. Laura watched her go looking as if she was debating following her. "Are you really going to leave me eating here by myself?"
"I'm weighing my options." There was an eye roll which she mimicked before taking a seat. "I don't like being tricked," she remarked.
"Hey don't look at me, this was her idea."
"Guess I'll have to have some words with her."
He chuckled at the words before his eyes glazed over her. Her shirt was black, tight on her small frame with the sleeves hugging her arms. It was tucked into her form fitting black pants, the only color on her coming from her opened toes heels with the straps wrapping at her ankles. "You clean up good for planning to meet up with a stranger."
"I'd be wearing sweats and a tank top if we went to a normal place but your sister sent me here. I don't think sweats would have cut it."
"Yeah you'd probably be turned away at the door."
"I should have worn the sweats."
"Something tells me you'd look good in that too so it wouldn't have bothered me."
"Is this the Pietro Maximoff dating experience? Cheesy compliments?"
He smirked, "No that's not the real experience but I'd be happy to show you if you're really interested."
"I'll pass," she remarked looking away from the suggestive leer.
He laughed and sunk into his seat, "Alright my compliments and charm don't seem like they're going to work on you. I guess we can just have a friendly chat. If you don't want to date me we can at least say we're friends right?"
/And we know we've become/
"Barely, maybe."
"Then let's take this time to become better friends."
"Ok, what do you want to talk about?" She asked and started flipping through her menu.
"Well as friends we can talk about anything right?"
"I guess."
"Alright, so let's talk about why you find me so repulsive. I didn't think I was that hideous but everyone has their views."
This made her laugh and she looked up at him, "Shut up! Like anyone finds you hideous..."
"You do."
Laura's lips stayed curled upwards as she stared at him, "I never said that."
/It's a pale blue love/
His eyes widened and lips parted but before he could get any words out the waitress showed up gleefully asking if they were ready to order. She looked away from him and stared at the menu not letting him or wanting him to ask a follow up question.
/It's a deep black crush, oh/
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Laura took a drink of the sweet wine they were sharing. Dinner had been filled with idle talk and multiple waitresses coming to see how they were doing. She had rolled her eyes as the last one who had brought them desert walked away.
"And you think you're hideous? You had half the restaurant come check you out."
He shrugged and took the last bite of his cheesecake. "I thought they were coming for you, which might not be a bad thing..." his eyebrows wiggled are her making her nose scrunch in.
"Pig."
He laughed in response before staring at her, as he did she started shifting in her seat. He was watching her in a certain way that was making her skin tingle, he was staring at her in the way that the stupid hot leads in movies stared at the girls, he was staring at her in a way she had never been stared at before and she wasn't sure how to feel about it.
She finally avoided the gaze by moving her eyes to her drink and chugging the rest of the wine in it. When she looked up at him his eyes were still on her and she felt the air around her tense up.
"So seriously, why not? I'm not going to get upset with whatever reason you give me and if you really don't want to give it a shot now after you've had dinner with me I won't ask again, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious as hell."
"Cause you know you're hot shit," she teased trying to alleviate the tension. He didn't go for it and her smile went into a straight line. "Come on, don't make me talk to you about this..."
"Why?"
"Because I do think you're fun and I do like when you're around so I don't want to make things weird."
"They won't be, I just told you I won't get upset."
She gave a small sigh before leaning into her seat and crossing her arms in front of her chest, "How's Luna?"
He was surprised by the question but knew that the question itself was the answer to his own.
"She's good, wth her mom. Since it's summer we're alternating weeks. She would prefer being here though, everyone at home spoils the fuck out of her."
Laura gave a small smile at that but didn't say anything else making him lean forward, both of his hands resting on the table top.
"So It's my daughter."
"It's not Luna..." she answered, putting emphasis on the name.
"..."
"How are things with her mom?"
He frowned at this question, "Amicable."
"Wanda makes it sound more than that. She says she still loves you."
"Crystal loves what she can't have."
"It just sounds complicated, and I definitely don't want or need anything complicated."
"It's not complicated at all, I don't want her."
/Try to meet halfway/
"Maybe now, but tomorrow's a new day. Look, I don't know if Wandas ever told you but I grew up in foster care and group homes. My mother passed when I was ten and I never met my father. She never even spoke of him, I literally know jack shit about my sperm donor. All I ever found out was that he knocked her up and she left and moved out of the area." His mouth opened to comment, probably some kind of sympathy, something she didn't want so she stopped him. "I don't want any pity, I want you to understand. I never had a functional two parent family unit, and Luna... it's a small possibility but if she has that chance, I'd love for her to have it."
"...So you don't want to date me because my ex still wants me even though I definitely don't want her?"
"When you say it like that it sounds stupid, but you never know. I mean you were obviously into her, you have a daughter with her. Do you really think that there is a 100 percent chance it's over over."
"Yes."
/Now we're up against a stone wall/
"No, you have a daughter together. It Is never 100 percent over now."
/We crash/
He leaned back into his seat and his head tilted back so that she could barely see the sapphire orbs watching her. "Well fuck...I was kind of hoping the reason would make like you less but I kind of like you more."
/Twin fire/
"I guess wanting something you can't have is something you share in common."
"Ouch," he answered before giving a chuckle. He then lifted a hand into the air and multiple of the waitresses that had attended them hurried over pretty much crashing into one another. He perked a brow at them but smiled charmingly and winked either way. "Can you get us the check?"
"Of course sir..."
Laura turned to them as they scurried off, feeling a slight annoyance. When she turned back Pietro's eyes were back on hers.
"So, you wanna go home, get into some sweats and go watch a movie with me?"
/Blue ash/
Her eyes widened, "But...I just said..."
"I heard what you said and I meant what I said, but you also said we were friends. Friends go to the movies together right? Plus I forgot that I wanted to mix business with pleasure tonight. We should maybe start talking about our collaboration. "
She shook her head but her lips curled upwards into a small smile, "Fine."
/Pink smoke, oh/
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Anna turned to Wanda as her phone vibrated on the kitchen top. At the moment they were with Kurt who was using them as guinea pigs for a new recipe he was trying to debut for the breakfast menu at the Hg Lounge.
"Who is it?" She asked, noticing Wanda's small smile as she played with the chain around her neck, a gothic cross at the end with dark purple stones embedded in it.
"Laura."
"How did it go?"
"Pietro's not home yet, shouldn't we assume it went well?" Kurt asked.
"Why are you being nosey and listening to our conversation," Anna childed while taking Wanda's phone.
"You guys were talking about it right in front of me while I was doing the prep. What am I supposed to do? Pretend I don't hear you."
"Yes," Wanda answered as she watched Anna read the conversation.
/Spirals in decline, one tied against the other/
'You fucken suck'
'Went that bad?'
'...no it was fine.'
'Then what's the problem?'
'Why would you even do this? You know why I was saying no to him!'
'He doesn't even like her, he barely tolerates her because she's the mother. There is no way they're getting back together. Plus this is your fault for doting on my niece the other day. If you weren't so attentive MAYBE I wouldn't have found it cute and fitting and planned this whole blind date shit.'
'-_-'
'Shut up, you know you think he's cute.'
/Impulse
White blood/
'Maybe a little.'
'So what now?'
'Nothing you ass. I told him where I stand and why I stand there and that's where I'm going to keep standing.`
'Eye roll emoji.'
As she finished reading it they heard the front door open and shut. Seconds later they were graced with the silver haired male.
"Cool, I came just in time! What's for dessert."
"Didn't you just eat?" Wanda asked.
"No, that was hours ago, though I did snack at the movies but you know that shit never fills you up. So what are we talking about?"
"We're dying to know how your date went," Kurt answered while giving Pietro a devil egged. Wanda and Anna threw him a glare.
He shrugged and jumped up to an empty spot on the counter, "It wasn't a date. We were just hanging out," he responded before biting into the egg.
"Disappointed?" Wanda asked with a perked brow.
"A little, but I'll get over it. What's the saying? There's more fish in the sea or whatever the fuck..." as he finished his sentence he took pieces of paper out of his pocket. Anna grabbed them, it was two receipts, one from the restaurant and on from the theater. Each with a different phone number.
/So high/
Her green eyes narrowed and her hand went to smack him behind the head but he was too fast and dodged.
"Why are you attacking me? She's the one who doesn't want me," he remarked with a small chuckle.
Wanda rolled her eyes at him before her eyes went back to her phone. A new message coming through.
'...but it really was a nice time.'
/Too soft, oh/
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O Tuesday O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Amara's body was tight and focused. She looked straight ahead and then kicked the air. When her foot went back to the ground she turned to look at her instructor. His lips were curled up.
"I'm doing it wrong," she assessed and put her hands on her hips. Roberto laughed at her frustration which just annoyed her more and made her frown deepen. He found it adorable.
"It's not wrong," he answered and went to stand next to her. "But it could be better. Look at my feet," he stated and positioned himself in a fighting stance. "See the space between my legs, you want that. You were going too narrow. The kick is good, the height is good but if you give yourself more space you'll give yourself more power."
She nodded at the information and tried to mimic his movement. He stepped out of his own stance and circled her like a vulture. After a minute of looking her over he stopped directly in front of her, his hand on his cheek in a pensive manner. "Would you mind?" He asked after a few seconds. She shook her head, not being sure what he was talking about but she soon understood as he moved behind her.
One of his hands went to her thigh and he gently pressed it at an angle. Her body followed the direction but her brain was having a small malfunction. She could feel her sides start to heat up and knew that the warmth would soon travel to her face.
"You want this leg at this angle and this foot out more..." he murmured, touching her other leg moving it back. "Just stand like this for a minute and try to remember how this positioning feels...it'll really help keep you balanced when you do the kick."
She did as he instructed and stood still for a minute, almost not breathing just because of the close proximity.
"Ok, now let me see your hand positions..."
Her hands automatically balled into fists and she put them up towards her arms. He circled her yet again. He smiled after doing a full circle and stopped in front of her, then proceeded in turning one of her fist at an angle. He then circled back behind her and she swallowed hard as the warmth of his chest connected with her back.
"You need your arms angled towards your chest, the arms act as an attack force but they're also your defense..." he wrapped his hands around her forearms and pulled inwards so that her fists were closer towards her middle.
"Last but not least," his knee pushed into the back of hers making her knee give out. Since he was behind her he easily made sure she didn't fall, "Bend the knees, straight legs make you lose reaction time... and this is it..." the breeze from his whispered kissed her earlobe and she used all the energy in her body to keep from reacting. "This is the posture you want to keep..." he finished, the warmth of his body still pressed up against her making her feel like she was on fire.
After a few seconds which felt as an eternity she wasn't sure she wanted to end, he stepped away from her and announced loudly, "Well for the most part!" She nodded after the words and released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"You can kick now," he suggested when he was far enough from her. She did and he clapped. "Much better! Let's try a few more and call it a day. You're probably exhausted since you did the class before we started doing this..."
"I feel ok," she answered and did another kick.
"We'll if you're not too tired, want to go get another shake?"
"On one condition."
"What?"
"You let me treat you."
"But..."
"No buts, you treated last week and you're taking the time to do this for me in your spare time. Let me at least thank you somehow."
His eyes scanned her from head to toe and his lips parted and closed a couple times wanting to say something. Whatever the main thought was wasn't spoken though as he answered with a simple, "Alright. Ten more kicks and we'll go," he motioned for her to go again and stepped away to view her movements from her side profile. After a few more kicks he added, "Hey, I have a perfect topic for conversation while we're out."
"More stuff about me?" She guessed and she gave another kick.
"Yeah."
"What do you want to know now?" she asked with a smile as she kicked yet again.
"Tell me about this pageant."
Amara landed her kick horribly and almost lost her balance due to it. When she looked over to him he wore a wide mischievous smile. "SHE TOLD YOU?"
"It might have slipped out of someone, tell me more."
Amara felt heat within her but unlike a few minutes before it was for completely different reasons. She was going to kill Jubilee.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"Oh my god is this for real?"
Jubilee looked up from the cash she had just counted. Their latest client was looking at a flyer that had been put up just that morning. She has barely glimpsed at it but this had been the second excited comment from one of their customers.
"Sure is," she answered nonchalantly.
"Oh my god Oh my god," she exclaimed almost as if she was going to start hyperventilating, " I NEED to take a picture with Gambit. He's so fucken hot. I hear he picks a new girl every night to go home with, do you think it's true?"
"I have no idea," Jubilee answered, handing her some change.
"Maybe tonight it will be me," the girl answered, taking the money and looking at the flyer in a dreamy state.
"Maybe," Jubilee responded, not paying much attention to her and handling her post instructions and a small card, "Here's your next appointment. We'll see you in a few weeks for the next sitting."
"Great, I'll be seeing you then too," she answered and turned her attention behind Jubilee giving the person there a lustful look. The individual nodded and made their way into the sterilization room with their instruments in hand. "Talking about hot...if I can't have Gambit I wouldn't mind me some of that..." she mumbled more to herself than to Jubilee. "Anyway! Bye"
"Bye..." Jubilee answered somewhat annoyed and watched the girl leave. Her face stayed directed in that area after the bell indicating she was long gone rang.
"What's wrong? What did she say?"
"Hmm why?" Jubilee asked.
"Cause you look pissed," Ray answered going to his area with his disinfectant.
"It's nothing but how many other clients do you think will react this way to this," she motioned to the flyer.
"A lot," Ray answered simply.
"Why? What's the big deal? I mean yes they're cute but isn't it a bit much? I swear, I heard someone go as far as saying they want their logo tattooed on the other day. I think it was Laura who saw the client."
"Have you watched them perform yet? The Acolytes?"
"No," she admitted.
"Alright well," Ray walked over to her taking his phone out of his pocket as he went. When he reached her he leaned forward putting his phone in front of them. This action caused his shoulder to slightly press against her own when he moved a little further in to press the play button.
The song started with a heavy rock beat that she had to admit was catchy from the beginning. The setting of the video started in a tunnel. The drums were a little off center way in the back, the blond man behind them was someone she had never seen before but his long hair swayed at each hit.
In front of the drums to the side we're the two guitarists. John was easy to make out even with the odd goggles he wore. His reddish orange hair stood spiked up. Next to him was the tall stoic looking met she had briefly met her first night at the Hg Lounge. In front of them all at dead center was Remy, he too had a guitar in hand but before him was also a microphone. Her attention stayed trained on him as his lips parted.
"I can't tolerate your sadness...'Cause it's me you are drowning. I won't allow any happiness...'Cause every time you laugh I feel so guilty... guilty."
A close up of Remy's face came to view and her eyes widened. He practically looked the same as whenever she had seen him in person, except for for the contact lenses he wore. Red iris in a black background stared back at her, the stare so intense almost making it feel like he was penetrating her soul. He wore a black face mask that outlined the side of his face, this helped the eyes pop out even more in contrast but it also helped his hair hang nicely around his face and kept the bangs out of the odd colored eyes.
"That's why they call him 'Le Diable Blanc'...the white devil."
Jubilee watched as the song continued, the scenes from the video going to close up of each man's face, to their instruments, to group shots to even a few shots of Remy playing what looked like solitaire. She watched as the man on the drums went wild, his head bobbing with the beat. John's head bangs were also erratic, the only calm one was the tall raven haired boy and Remy, but something told Jubilee that that had to do more with the fact that the man was performing two duties. As she kept watching she was in complete awe, the passion and enjoyment that the men performing were exhibiting was hard to explain but she someone was able to feel it.
"Sell me the infection, It is only for the weak. No need for sympathy, The misery that is me…"
Ray looked away from the video to watch Jubilee. There was wonder in her eyes as she watched the performance. As he kept his gaze on her he felt an odd stirring on his insides at how focused she was and for a brief moment he wondered if she was going to be one of those crazy fangirls she had been talking about just moments ago. He sighed and moved away, he couldn't blame her. This was one of his favorite songs by them and well, Remy in those contacts always had a way of charming all the ladies. He ignored the fact that this sort of bothered him at the moment and walked away leaving her to keep watching.
"And that's why people get excited," he remarked even though he was almost sure she didn't hear him.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Jubilee looked around making sure that everything was closed down in the waiting room. The pool poles and cues were all in place, the magazine and binders all in order. It looked like she was ready to go.
She took a glance across the room to see that Ray was pretty much finished putting all the tattooing tools away. After watching him for a bit she looked at the clock, a few more minutes and they were out. She walked over to the front counter area, made sure everything was in place for where she wanted it in the morning and got her things ready to leave. She was too occupied to notice that the steel blue eyes were now on her.
"Hey..."
Her eyes widened and she turned to him looking a little surprised. It was rare when he was the one that started the conversation and this had been the second time that day. A rare occurrence indeed.
"Are you doing anything right now?"
She thought for a moment, "Maybe go to the gym if anything but I wouldn't say that's an actual plan."
"Have you been next door since that first time?"
"No...not yet. The girls have asked but Amara is really pushing the gym thing right now. If anything the reason it's not a forced thing tonight is because she's been going in the mornings on Tuesday. Guess she really liked Roberto's class."
"Do you want to?"
She perked an eyebrow, "I didn't know The X dolls were performing today."
"Oh there not, it's pretty much just me."
"How? I mean I thought you were exclusively..."
"The X-men are my official band but sometimes I lend out my skills if they're wanted."
"Oh, that's pretty cool."
"Yup, so...yeah just in case you were interested."
"Um, yeah that sounds like fun."
"Cool, we'll let's close up and head over," as he finished he started flipping the lights of his station. They both then started making their way out after making sure the front door was locked. Neither spoke as they walked side by side. It wasn't until they were at the lounge that Jubilees' lips parted once she saw the full table of people they were heading towards.
"Pietro said that each day was a different themed date right?"
"Yeah."
"What's tonight?"
He looked over her shoulder and threw her a mischievous look, "It's Karaoke Tuesday," he answered and continued to walk until he got to the table with multiple X-Doll members.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
"Yay! Jubilee, you're here! Are you going to try it out?" Kitty asked as Jubilee found herself sitting next to Danielle Moonstar.
"Uh, I actually didn't know it was karaoke night or else I would have opted out," she turned to glare at Ray who shrugged before looking away.
"So you're not going to go up and try?" Tabitha asked, eyeing her from head to toe.
"I don't think so..."
"One of us can go up with you! Or even a few of us, there's group songs!" Dani encouraged.
"Ladies, calm down, there's still a little bit before karaoke even starts."
Jubilee turned and gave the red head of the group a smile, happy to have gotten some back up.
"Like, I guess that means you totally have more time to think it over," Kitty remarked with a wink.
"So it's not karaoke night after all?"
"Well it is but karaoke starts at 9 and ends At 11. There's usually a local band performing before it starts just to get the mood started. The performing spot becomes open at the beginning of the day and is up for grabs for anyone so literally you just check in with Pietro and see if the spot is taken," Jean explained.
"But he's in a band himself, doesn't he just take it?"
"Not usually. He knows how it is for small bands so he leaves it open , unless no one takes it then maybe he'd get his crew together."
"Do you guys know who's playing today?"
Jubilee was surprised by the voice that had spoken, not catching sight of her. Then again she could see how easily someone could be lost in this huge group, there were enough of them that they weren't just taking two tables but three. It didn't help that she liked to wear so much black and hunter green and that the club lighting was dim. Anna nodded at her in greeting once their eyes connected and Laura who had been sitting next to her brought a hand up as greeting but didn't say anything verbally before looking down at her phone.
"No, actually I don't, does anyone?" It was a dark skinned blond boy that had spoken, his name was Evan, at least she hoped it was because she was sure they had introduced her to him when she had been at Laura's apartment. The boy and girl next to him were people she didn't know. She had seen the boy the first time she had seen Anna perform but the short hair redhead was a new face all together. Everyone in their surrounding had shook their heads answering the question.
"I guess it'll be a surprise," Scott answered and shrugged.
No one replied to that comment but they quickly went into a different conversation not giving it much thought. After some time Ray got up without saying anything to anyone. Jubilee would have thought it'd feel awkward to be left alone with the huge group but to her surprise she felt quite at ease. It almost felt like she had known these people for a lot longer than she actually did.
"I think the performance is going to start," Kitty remarked as the dance music started to fade.
"I wonder who it is. I haven't seen the Morlocks perform in a while..." Evan commented looking thoughtful and turning to the stage. As he spoke figures started appearing on the stage, many recognizable by their stature.
"Guess you guessed right, Jubilation, right?" Scott Summers asked double checking that he got her name right. She was too busy looking at the figures on the stage to correct him on her name and just mumbled, 'yeah' as Kitty squealed besides her yelling something about being ready to get rocked. "I don't really feel like watching this, I think I'll step out before you girls start karaoke," Scott added getting up and holding a hand out towards Jean while Blob took a seat in front of the drums and Pietro walked to to the right side of the stage with a guitar in hand.
"Looks like the Brotherhood's not planning to be the main attraction." Jubilee heard Laura mumble before another comment got the whole group's attention.
"Is that Ray?"
Tabitha's question made the oldest member turn back to the stage and sure enough the orange spiked bangs gave away the young man who put a hand up in the air winning him a reaction from the crowd before going to a synthesizer at the corner of the stage next to another orange haired individual holding a guitar.
"I guess that prediction wasn't one hundred precent accurate after all," Anna murmured as Remy Lebeau got on the stage making the screams from the crowd go even louder than they already were.
Jubilee looked away from Ray to stare at Remy momentarily, the flyer from work coming to mind. She hadn't actually read it, she had just assumed that the flyer said that the two Acolyte members would be there at the Hg Lounge but she should have really connected the dots once Ray had mentioned that he was performing but the X-dolls were not.
"What is he doing up there?" Scott asked, looking at different faces who either shrugged or shook their heads not having any answer for him. Before he could ask anything else the feedback telling them the mic had been turned on echoed.
"BAYVILLE! Are you ready?!" The screams were almost deafening making the Cajun smirk into the crowd as he scanned the many faces. "Perfect, before we start I just want to give a small thanks to Quicksilver and the Brotherhood for joining Pyro and myself on stage. I also want to hear a nice loud scream for our special guest Berzerker who's going to show off his skills on the synth…" as he finished the sentence the crowd did another yell and Ray took that as the cue to start as he pressed a key on his board making a deep sound echo through the building.
In quick succession his other fingers followed and he repeated the beat a few times over before nodding his head a few times, the last nod was more of a head bang and when his head head leaned forward the rest of the boys started their instruments causing the strong metal beat to explode around them.
Remy grabbed the microphone stand and leaned it towards him, his lips grazed it as they parted and his voice joined in with the instrumental. "I...uncoil the serpent's spine…" his voice was low growl, creepy yet haunting in a fascinating way at the same time. He wore his contacts and Jubilee could feel her hairs stand at attention as the red on black eyes scanned the room. They stopped in their direction. "In the soil of your desire…" he suddenly smirked, the action caused goosebumps to her on her arm. It was such a dangerous smirk, almost like he was playing some kind of game with someone. She turned to the last table that held the X-dolls and realized that it was someone playing with him. Anna was watching the stage, a smirk of her own purple lips. Her hand was in front of her with her middle finger pointed up, "Deep inside your star divine…"
Laura still sat besides the green eyed goth but paid no attention to her antics. Instead her eyes were still on her phone, but this time it was right in front of her facing the stage as well. She was recording, but as a new voice took over the song her eyes left the small screen to watch the actual performance before them prompting Jubilee to look away from them as well.
Pietro had taken a step forward with his guitar still in hand. Remy was leaning the microphone stand towards him at an angle so that his softer voice mixed in with the music, "I... taste the blood of the scarlet cry…" Jubilee could almost hear the swoon of the females in the audience, "from the cup of her desire...Deep inside her star of five…"
The beat suddenly got stronger and the room exploded with cheers. Jubilee found her attention going away from the two vocalists and focused on Ray. He had gotten into the song and was showing it. He had a foot on top of the synthesizer, his head banging along with the beat as his fingers moved non stop and Remy's louder, deeper scream took over the song.
"I want to drown you in your faith
I want to crown it with my hate
I want to burn it in my pit of fire"
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Jubilee shook her head and pulled back trying her hardest to stay put in her seat. Her feet were braced at the bottom of her stool helping brace her as both arms got pulled one way or the other.
"Come on! It'll be fun!"
"We're like going as a group, that's definitely better than like going alone."
"I didn't come prepared for this! I just came to watch!" Jubilee argued. She turned to the next table to try and get support from the girl she had gotten to know most in the past few weeks but unfortunately for her, Laura was gone as was Anna. Damn it!
"What's going on over here?"
Kitty and Dani momentarily loosened their grips on her arms as Ray made his way to the table Anna and Laura had been at. "We're trying to convince Jubilee to go up with us now that karaoke started," Dani answered.
"Convince? Is that what we're calling this?" He asked, eying her tense posture and braced legs before turning his gaze to the other girls and then eyeing Tabitha who was standing to the side apparently going with them as well. She stared back before looking back to the reluctant Asian girl.
"Let's hurry it up guys." Before any of the girls she was talking to could answer a new voice interrupted their struggle.
"So what was that about?"
Danielle and Kitty own postures tensed at the tone of voice Scott was using and they immediately dropped Jubilee's hands. "Sounds like it's totally time to go..."
"We'll see you afterwards," Dani mumbled to Jubilee before linking arms with Kitty and following Tabitha to the backstage area.
Jubilee watched them go and was suddenly tempted to follow. Somehow the carefree atmosphere had evaporated as Ray and Scott exchanged looks. Through her peripherals Jubilee could see Jean's hand on Scott's arm keeping him from turning completely on the stool he sat on.
"What was what?" Ray asked even though Jubilee had a good idea he knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Are you going over to enemy territory now?"
"Enemy territory?" Ray repeated with a perked eye brow and a smirk that she had a feeling the older boy probably wanted to smack off his face. "Last I heard Nocturnal Madness was a collaboration this year not a competition. Plus it's my night off, I didn't know I had to ask permission to do whatever I want."
Scott's mouth parted to speak but before he could say anything else Jean squeezed at his arm making him turn to her and as if being able to read her thoughts he closed his mouth.
Ray got up seconds later and mumbled something about needing air and soon disappeared through the back door they had entered from. The remaining members at the three tables stayed quiet and looked at the stage, pretty much pretending they did not exist and Jubilee suddenly felt awkward.
It wasn't until two full minutes afterwards that she got the courage to get up and go the same way Ray had gone through. When she reached the hallway connecting both businesses she noticed that the lights were still off at Scarlet Ink and decided to walk out the back into the streets.
The aroma of cool mint hit her strongly and she turned to the side to see the dual haired male looking the opposite way distractedly. It wasn't until he heard the door close behind her that he turned, his annoyed expression quickly turning into surprise.
"Hey...where are you off to?"
Deciding that she didn't really want to say that that was awkward as fuck and she pretty much followed him, she went with, "I thought I'd be a good time to go home."
"What? And miss out on going out there and singing your heart out?" He asked a teasing tone in his voice she was starting to get used to.
"That was never in the plans."
"You already called for your ride?"
Oh, That's right...she always got picked up especially this late at night, and to answer his question no she hadn't. She debated on whether she was going to lie considering the fact that she had already told him her plans were to go home, but it would be even worse if he insisted to wait with her and no one came. She could say she was planning on walking but it was a few blocks away and it was late and yeah...that wasn't going to be a good option.
She decided to go with the truth after an internal debate that lasted longer than she would have liked causing him to just stare at her, "Not just yet."
He nodded and looked away from her as he took a hit from his vape, blowing the smoke the opposite direction. After the vapor had disappeared into the air he turned back to her, "Do you want a ride?"
She turned to him surprised by the question and ignored the way her heart seemed to skip a beat. "Ok."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
/Soft to tell in an instant, fleeting/
Jubilee stared out the window, she could see the lights of the houses and streets as they passed but she wasn't registering them.
The little hairs on the back of her neck were at end, her thoughts working out the fact that she was alone in a car with Ray. It was no secret, at least to herself, that she was attracted to the six foot tall guy sitting less than a foot away from her and the performance she had witnessed him in earlier didn't help lessen that attraction.
/Put to rest in the deep blue sea/
There was only one word she could use to describe that performance earlier. Electrifying. She hadn't been able to really ponder on her thoughts about it earlier due to the fact that she was almost kidnapped by a few X-dolls but now that she was alone with him and he had gone back to his usual quiet self except for his periodic vapes, she was thinking about it quite a bit. The way his fingers went to work on the keyboards even when his eyes were closed had pretty much stolen the performance for her.
He had been electrifying to her.
/Separate in the dark white winter/
Her eyes eventually stopped registering the houses they were passing at all, her eyes zoning into a reflection from the window. His Thunderstorm tattoo was bright in the glare and she found herself not being able to pull her gaze away from it.
She was so lost in taking the toned arm in, memorizing all the muscle definitions that she almost jumped when his voice broke the silence, "Did you have a good time?"
She turned to him to see that he was looking down at his phone, his eyes momentarily focused on the directions on his GPS. "Yeah, I did. They were good on video but, there really is something special about a live show."
"If you think about it, it makes sense. I mean if just a video can make you feel something wouldn't you assume the real thing is so much better?"
"Do they do that often?"
"What?"
"Join other bands like that?"
"Not really but since their band isn't whole right now it's easy for them to merge themselves with others, especially Pietro since he's worked with them before. Remy actually really enjoys it because it gives him a different sound. Like for example he wanted to pull me into today because he wanted the synth keyboard, no one in the Brotherhood or Acolytes plays the keys."
"Is it going to be ok that you did that?"
"Hmm?"
"Play with them. It didn't seem like Scott was very happy about it."
"Scott's not my manager."
"He's not?" Jubilee asked, genuinely surprised.
"No, he likes to act like it because he was Professor Xavier's first project so he thinks seniority matters but he only officially manages Jean. My manager is Wolverine and it'll be fine. I'm not worried about it."
"Won't it bring problems overall with the group? You guys all seem so close."
"Nah. I mean, yeah we're close but if you think about it there's more than twenty official members in the band. There's no way we all get along, all the time. Hell, I think I can go as far as saying that sometimes we don't even want to be around each other. "
/Melted back with a hollow plea/
"Then why do you gather like you do? I mean it looks like you guys are always together."
"We do it to support each other because we may not see eye to eye all the time but the music brought us together so in a weird way we're like a brady bunch type of family. It doesn't really help that some of us didn't come from the best family background so I guess we kind of hold on because sometimes that's better than being alone…"
/What are we but a storm of sorrow?/
As if knowing that maybe he said more than what he wanted to he didn't add anything else. Instead he upped the volume to the song that was playing and Jubilee couldn't help but notice the electric beat sound to it.
"Can you play any other instruments?" She was surprised that the words came out of her mouth, she was even more surprised when he answered.
"Electric guitar but I don't do it often."
"You prefer electric instruments."
"Yeah."
"What is it about electricity?" He turned to her and perked a brow. Her eyes went to the thunderstorm on his arm. "Since being in the shop I've noticed that a lot of the clients get their tattoos with certain meanings behind them. I mean yes we get drunken stupors but for the most part people come in knowing what they want and there's a story behind it. Wanda's tattoos for example defined her to a tee, even the fire tattoo she hides says something very powerful. What's the story behind yours?" She didn't know what gave her the courage but as she asked the question her hand reached out and traced a lightning spike.
He surprised both of them as he flinched at the contact. The spark that ignited quickly vanished and her eyes widened as she realized what she had just done
/Feel your heart beating slow like thunder/
He eyed her wearily and his lips parted, "I think we're here."
She looked away from him and back out the window to see that they had parked outside Amara's house. They had arrived.
"Thanks for the ride," she mumbled and without turning back to him got out of the car. She was inside in a matter of seconds, never looking back to notice that the steel blue eyes stayed on her until she was no longer visible.
/Bleeding out through the fire and stone/
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
/And we know what we've become/
Jubilee flopped onto her bed and faced the ceiling. The sweet smell of whatever juice flavor Ray had been exhaling still invading her senses. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath trying to get more of the scent in, her mind going back to that brief moment with her finger brushing down his arm. If she hadn't been so distracted by her fantasy she would have heard her door open and would have been able to move before her 5 foot three inch friend body slammed her.
Her eyes opened wide more due to surprise than being hurt and she stared at beautiful glaring brown orbs.
"What?" She managed to groan out as she tried getting her off of her.
"You told Roberto about the pageant!" Amara accused haughty.
"He actually brought it up? What a jerk..." Jubilee mumbled more to herself than her friend. This caused Amara to get on her knees and try to jump on her again. Jubilee took that moment to put her hands out and wave them dramatically. "Wait wait wait..." she yelled out while trying to escape. "It wasn't me!"
Amara stopped trying to reach her and looked at her suspiciously, "Who else would it be?"
"It was Laura and in her defense it was an accident, but if you really want to beat someone up about it take it up with her."
Amara pouted and turned and flopped on the bed much like she had a few minutes ago. "I can't do anything to her, she knows how to box, she'll hurt me back."
"And I won't?" Jubilee asked.
"No, you love me," she replied in a smug manner, she then sighed and turned her face to stare at her and patted the bed next to her.
Jubilee took it as a peace offering and sat besides her, "So what happened?"
"Nothing he just asked what the pageant was for."
"Hmm..." the Asian girl answered and looked around as silence consumed the room. After a bit she asked, "Is it really that big of a deal that he knows?"
Amara sighed again, "I guess not but I just..." she hesitated. "...I don't want him to think I'm just a conceited bimbo."
Jubilee laughed at the words making the dark skinned girl narrow her eyes at her, "Sorry, it's just a funny thing to hear you say. Why in the world would he think you're a bimbo? You graduated with a 4.0."
"Well he doesn't know that! I just don't want him to think I'm all about looks just cause of the beauty pageant stuff."
"Hmm," Jubilee answered and they both stayed in silence for a bit before Amara broke the silence with, "I think I really like him..."
That got a Jubilee's attention and she turned to her, "Yeah?" She asked.
"Yeah. I mean I know it probably sounds crazy considering we've only known each other a few weeks but..."
/It's a pale blue love/
"He just makes you feel a certain type of way," Jubilee finished for her and looked away.
"Yeah. How do you kn...oh no don't tell me he makes you feel the same!" Amara asked, horrified.
"NO!" Jubilee shouted, disliking the idea as much as her dark skinned friend. "He's all yours! No," she repeated.
"Oh..." Amara answered and they both shared a look before laughing. After they calmed themselves she gave her friend a pensive look, "But how do you know what I mean?"
Jubilee shrugged steel blue eyes coming to mind. "I guess sometimes I get a certain feeling too."
"From?" Amara asked, trying to figure out who it might be, they had met quite a bit of people in the last few weeks so it wasn't as easy as she would have liked.
"It doesn't matter. I'm only here for the next few weeks anyway, so there's no point in useless affections."
/It's a deep black crush, oh/
Amara looked like she wanted to argue the point but after a few minutes of opening and closing her mouth she decided to remain silent.
"Why were you so late getting home today? You guys had a big appointment?"
"No, I stayed afterwards to see the show at the Lounge."
"Oh cool! Did one of the girls perform?"
"No, It was kind of a hybrid performance with some of the Acolytes and Brotherhood."
"That sounds interesting."
"It was really good."
"You didn't message for us to go get you so I assume you got a ride?"
"Yeah, Ray brought me home..."
Something about the way she said it made Amara turn to look at her friend. Her eyes were now closed, a conflicted expression on her features. Deciding it would be best not to ask, Amara closed her eyes too, Jubilee would talk about it when she wanted to. For now she would wait and let her fantasies take her closer to the sun.
/Dissolving in the sky
Swallowed in time
We crash...Twin fire
Blue ash...Pink smoke, oh/
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O TBC O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Yay! No cliffhanger! Just a nice regular ending ;) This was a fun chapter! Jubilee escaped Karaoke Tuesday XD Scott and Ray butted heads, Kurt was nosy XD It was very fun ;)
Jubilay- I had to make up for the fact that they were pretty MIA in the last chapter so here they are. The attraction is definitely there ;) Idk why i thought it was so sexy when he asked if she had plans but I did...that and when he was outside vaping away...and when they were in the car and she touched the tattoo...ok I think I just have thing for Ray :P
Amarto- Getting nice and sweaty together, the innocent way ;) Amara is so smitten and it's so cute!
Jonda- MIA but don't worry...I have plans and when those come out you'll hopefully think it was worth the wait!
Xietro- She had a good time! Ngl, it kinda breaks my heart that I'm making her say no to him XD But now you guys know why ;) Thoughts?
Romy- Pretty MIA, you know other than throwing him a bird XD All I can say is that the wait will be worth the wait, well at least the scenes I see in my head def feel like it's worth it XD What y'all think about her necklace? Just asking...
That's it for now! Jubilee survived Karaoke Tuesday but how will she handle Wicked Wednesday? Guess you'll find out next month but sounds good with a work like Wicked involved no? Songs used in this chapter were The Birthday Massacre's "Crush, In Flames "Only for the Weak" and 3Teeth's "Pit of Fire". Thanks again guys and I'll see you soon!
-UHW
PS: I've been commissioning art for our Lovely ships for like a year now so If you guys want to see them you can find them on my XietroQueen tumblr. Just saying ;)