Spiral: Chapter 4
Title: Spiral
Author: lux_apollo
Rating: PG, but John drops the F-bomb a lot. It's John. *shrugs*
Pairings: Bobby/John, very mild Rogue/Gambit in this Chapter
Summary: Bobby gets help for his slipping grades. John is bored, chats with some Brotherhood cohorts via chatroom.
Notes: Thanks to sarahlu81 and miss_bushido for beta. This fic is cross posted at x_slash and fiery_snowstorm.
[ Prologue | Chapter 1 - NC17 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3]
Chapter 4
Bobby knocked on Justin’s door. The muffled sounds of loud music were leaking out into the hall. It wasn’t anything that Bobby could recognize, but it sounded tortured and angry. Not the kind of music that Bobby ever listened to, but it was still familiar enough. It was the kind of music John used to listen to when he needed to get something out of his system. It usually was a sign to leave John alone for an hour or two unless Bobby wanted to deal with a fistfight or singed clothing.
After a minute, Justin still hadn’t answered the door. Bobby sighed and knocked again. Justin was the one who chose the time for this first session, not him. You would think that he would have at least remembered-
The door opened, and Bobby was confronted with an extremely pale looking Justin. His usually bright eyes looked quite dull, and his hair was unkempt.
“Are you okay?” Bobby asked.
“Yeah. Just a bad day,” Justin mumbled over the blare of the music. He turned around and headed back into his room, leaving Bobby standing there. After a second Bobby followed him into the room. Justin did something on the laptop that was sitting on his desk. It was a Mac PowerBook G4, which made Bobby feel a little jealous. He just had a crappy Dell laptop that his parents bought him for his birthday before -well, before they found out he was a mutant. The music coming out of the desktop speakers connected to the laptop changed to something infinitely quieter and more sedate.
“If you don’t feel up to this, we can do it another time. I don’t mind, really,” Bobby suggested, wanting to get out of this if he could.
Justin shrugged, his back towards Bobby. He walked over to his bookshelf and grabbed a couple books. “Nah. Let’s get this over with. If you hate calculus as much as I did, then we might as well try and get you back on track as quick as we can. Just gimme a second, I need to put my contacts in,” Justin said tiredly. He grabbed a small container and opened it up.
Bobby looked away. There was just something about putting things in or around eyes that bothered him. Heck, when his teacher tried to put eyeliner on him for the school play in Grade Six, Bobby had squirmed so much that she accidentally poked him in the eye with the pencil. It had done nothing to alleviate his aversion. Needles he could do. Hospitals he could do. But contact lenses? They were too freaky for Bobby’s liking. Thank god his vision was better than 20/20.
“Do you already know what is causing you trouble?”
Bobby turned back to Justin. “I don’t know. Really, I think I’ve just been having trouble concentrating… I mean, I’m not doing as well in a lot of my classes, but I can keep up at least.”
“Yeah, calculus is like that. I was actually surprised Hank asked me to help you. I told him flat out that I hated math a few weeks ago. He seems to think that I’m just in denial or something,” Justin said, flashing a smile. Bobby chuckled.
“I think he thinks that about everyone. Though, I don’t hate math. Actually, I kinda like it… I guess that’s why I’m thinking about getting into accounting.”
“Accounting? Really? Well, I guess that isn’t that all that suprising. It would fit into the whole ‘All-American Good-Boy-Next-Door’ thing that you have going on,” Justin remarked. Bobby could feel his cheeks colouring slightly.
“I don’t know about that.” Bobby felt a little embarrassed for some reason.
“Whatever.” Justin shrugged. “So… I think we actually might be a little more productive if we go somewhere else. This room isn’t exactly the most inspiring setting for learning. Maybe the arboretum?”
“Uh, sure. I guess that could work.” What a weird place for a tutoring session. They exited the room, and Justin turned and locked the door.
“Let’s stop by the kitchen on the way. Studying is always better with a good drink and something to eat,” Justin suggested. They started down the hall in silence. Bobby was trying to think of something to say, but he couldn’t think of anything worthwhile. It was strange, because he never had trouble making small talk, even with people he barely knew. Something about Justin told Bobby that the blonde boy didn’t really feel like idle chit-chat.
They were almost to the kitchen when Justin suddenly turned to Bobby. “On second thought, maybe the food can wait till later,” he said much louder than necessary.
Bobby looked at him questioningly. “Are you sure? I’m kind of hungry. Maybe we should¬-“
Bobby stopped when a very flushed and embarrassed looking Rogue exited the kitchen, followed a moment later by a very happy looking Gambit. Gambit gave Justin a wink as he walked by, and Justin grinned.
“T’anks for preservin’ ma chere’s dignity, homme. De Gambit owes you one, mon ami,” Remy said appreciatively.
“De rien, mon frère. Désolé pour vous interrompre.”
“Pas ta faute.” Gambit replied, looking a little surprised. “You speak français very well, ami. Where are you from again? Quebec?”
“Northern Ontario,” Justin replied. Gambit nodded.
“Ah, de Gambit thought he heard a Canadian accent in der. Well, can’t keep ma chere waitin’. See you around… Justin is it?”
“You got it.”
“Ah, good. See you in trainin’, Popsicle.” Gambit waved, flashing a shit-eating grin. Bobby rolled his eyes.
“Yeah. See you later,” Bobby said, holding his tongue. He and Justin then proceeded into the kitchen. Justin threw a kettle on the stove and started to boil some water. If John was here, they could have just boiled the water in the greenhouse-
“Do you want tea? I’m making myself some Earl Grey,” Justin interrupted Bobby’s thought.
“Yeah, sure.” Caffeine was probably a good idea, considering his sleeping habits the last few weeks. Bobby walked over to the fridge and grabbed an orange. He sat down on one of the stools around the kitchen island and started to peel it. Justin sat down across from Bobby, and silence descended on the room.
“Thanks for getting them out of here,” Bobby said. “Whatever they were doing, I sure didn’t want to see it.”
Justin nodded. He had heard from a few people that Bobby and Rogue and broken up just a few weeks before his arrival a month ago. “Yeah… I’m not sure exactly what they were doing, but I started feeling the lust when I was halfway down the stairs.” Justin paused. “I hate bad days…” he half whispered, running a hand through his golden hair.
“Oh, when you said that earlier you meant about your powers… I thought you meant in general,” Bobby said, suddenly understanding. Justin chuckled bitterly.
“When the emotions of everyone around you are bleeding in and you can’t figure out what is everyone else’s and what is actually your own, that usually qualifies as a bad day in general.”
Bobby looked down at the orange in his hands, feeling embarrassed again. “I can’t even imagine.”
“Believe me, you don’t want to.”
“Is it always like that?”
“Nah… by about a year after my empathic abilities started getting really strong, I had figured out how to block out a lot of it… Well, maybe block is a bad word. It’s more like I learned how to keep it down to a dull roar in my head… background enough that I could separate myself from what was going on around me, but never really quiet,” Justin said. “For some reason I’ve been having more and more trouble lately. Professor Xavier says he should be able to teach me to almost completely block it out, though. He was actually kind of surprised I’d lasted this long without help.”
“I am too. We almost never get new students over the age of sixteen here. I guess usually people have the most trouble with their powers when they first appear. When I was twelve and I first started being able to make ice I was so scared. I had no idea when my powers were going to activate. Most of us who are here probably wouldn’t have made it if we had been on our own like you. If I hadn’t been recruited to come here, I probably would have went through hell.”
“Yeah, for a long time I thought I was in hell. If it wasn’t for my friend Aleks, I probably wouldn’t be here today…” Justin trailed off. Bobby opened his mouth to ask who Aleks was, but Justin had gotten up to take care of the whistling tea kettle. Justin poured them both a mug, and they headed for the arboretum.
Miss Munroe was inside, watering some of the plants with a small rain cloud she had created. “Oh, hello Bobby, Justin. Did you need me for anything?”
“No, we were just going to study in here if that’s okay with you. Justin thought it would be a little more inspiring than the dorm rooms,” Bobby explained to her. Storm nodded her approval.
“That sounds like a great idea. I’m almost done watering the plants. I’ll try not to get you wet. Just give me a shout if my aim is off!” she joked, smiling warmly. Bobby smiled. He knew that she was only kidding. Of all the teachers, Miss Munroe probably had the best control over her powers. Well, other than Professor Xavier. Bobby and Justin walked over to the long bench that was near the back of the arboretum. Bobby opened up his books to the section they were working on this week.
“Alright, just start doing some of the problems you have for homework right now. I’m going to observe what you’re doing and try to work out a strategy for you.” Justin took a pen out of his pocket so he could take notes in the notebook he had brought along. Bobby gave him a skeptical look.
“How is that going to help me?”
“You said you thought that your problem was that you couldn’t concentrate well enough. I’m going to take an inventory of your working behaviour, and from that I should be able to start an analysis of what’s going on while you are trying to do your work. Doesn’t hurt that I’m an empath, either.”
“Dr. McCoy wasn’t kidding when he said you had some alternative techniques.”
“Nah, they are mostly just tricks I learned while I was tutoring learning disabled kids back at home. Now, quit trying to procrastinate and get started. Pretend I’m not even here.”
Bobby sighed. That was easier said than done. He didn’t like being watched while he did his homework, which is why he usually did it in his room. John was the only one who had never made him feel nervous while he was trying to get his work done. Though, John more often than not would have found an excuse to interrupt him right when he was in the middle of something, just to infuriate¬-
“Bobby!” Justin broke him out of his thoughts. “Jeez, you were serious when you said you had concentration issues! You haven’t even started the first question and you are already spacing out. Let’s get going, or we’re going to be here forever.”
“Sorry,” Bobby apologized, wanting to slap himself upside the head. He started to work on the problem. This was going to be a long session, he could already tell.
* * *
[zippopwnsbic23 has entered the chatroom]
[witchywoman87] What’s up, Zippo?
[zippopwnsbic23] Not much. So fucking bored. Was going to go for a walk but it’s still raining. And this motel sucks. Even if we have satellite internet.
[witchywoman87] I’m assuming she’s out, since she almost beat you the last time you used her computer on a mission.
[zippopwnsbic23] Yeah. Went to visit that Destiny chick or something. Her new bitch since your daddy-dearest left her to rot after being cured. Told me she’d be back before we had to start the mission. Whenever that is.
[witchywoman87] *shudders* That creepy lady? She freaks me out.
[zippopwnsbic23] You met her?
[witchywoman87] Yeah. Before I met you, on the way back from Poland. She met us in Belgium and we stayed at her place until Mystique came to pick us up in the chopper. She’s so weird. I guess she’s in the US now.
[zippopwnsbic23] Why the hell do you always get to meet everyone?
[witchywoman87] Jealous that father stopped dragging you around everywhere? Don’t be. You know just as much as I do how much it sucks most of the time. I wish he’d take Pietro with him more often. Pietro would love it, for some reason.
[zippopwnsbic23] I’m not jealous. Someone else can be his fucking lackey. I was damn sick of it by the time he brought you two into this, that’s for sure.
[witchywoman87] Right, right. That’s why you and Pietro got into a fistfight last month over who was in charge of the bank robbery.
[zippopwnsbic23] Hate to break it to you, but you’re brother’s an asshole. He doesn’t listen to anyone but you and Buckethead. And I was fucking in charge. That’s why your daddy-dearest took it out on me when we weren’t as successful as we should have been.
[witchywoman87] *sighs* I wish you and Pietro wouldn’t fight so much.
[zippopwnsbic23] Tell that to him. He’s the one who thinks he’s better than everyone else just because he’s Magneto’s punk kid.
[witchywoman87] You need to stop pressing his buttons, Pyro. He just wants to do good in father’s eyes. He never really felt like we belonged with our adoptive parents. The rest of the village treated us like we were cursed because of the way mother died…
[suave_silver_69 has entered the chatroom]
[witchywoman87] We’ll talk about that some other time, though.
[zippopwnsbic23] *rolls eyes* Whatever. Hey Q. How was the party?
[suave_silver_69] Wanda, I need your help now.
[suave_silver_69] It sucked, dude. It was Morty’s birthday. How fun did you think it would be? Plus, it takes forever for me to get drunk ‘cause of my stupid ultra-high metabolism. They barely had enough to go around, and you know how Fatso is with the beer. I’m glad he was late getting there or I wouldn’t have even gotten a buzz.
[witchywoman87] What happened?
[zippopwnsbic23] Ha ha ha. I’m almost glad I was stuck here in the middle of nowhere.
[suave_silver_69] Dominic passed out in father’s office and puked all over the couch. He had a bottle of ouzo stashed in his room but wouldn’t share with anyone and then finished it himself. Selfish bastard.
[witchywoman87] What do you need me for? Make him clean it up!
[suave_silver_69] Can’t. I got him to the bathroom to throw him in the showers, but he started puking again and then passed out. Loser.
[zippopwnsbic23] Bwa ha ha ha! Serves the fucker right! You should have left him there on the couch ‘till Buckethead found him!
[witchywoman87] Damn it. Is he alright?
[suave_silver_69] Call my father Buckethead one more time and I’m going to rip you a new asshole when you get back, faggot.
[suave_silver_69] He’ll be fine. Just needs some water and Gravol or something. And a shower. Are you going to help me or not, sis? Father’s going to be back in less than an hour.
[zippopwnsbic23] I’d like to see you try, Quickdick. Besides, I thought you weren’t in to ripping other guys assholes. *smirks* Or did you mean rimming?
[witchywoman87] I’ll be there in a sec.
[suave_silver_69] Fuck you, Allerdyce.
[zippopwnsbic23] You wish, Zippy.
[suave_silver_69 has left the chat]
[witchywoman87] *sighs* Could you two at least try to be civil? For me?
[zippopwnsbic23] For you? Maybe. I’m not giving you any guarantees.
[witchywoman87] Thanks. It means a lot to me.
[zippopwnsbic23] Whatever.
[witchywoman87] Now to go clean up another mess you males got into. God, why did I have to be the only female on this island other than Mystique?
[witchywoman87] I’ll see you when you get back, ‘kay?
[zippopwnsbic23] Because you’re just that special.
[zippopwnsbic23] Sure.
[witchywoman87] *rolls eyes* Sometimes I think you’re the worst of them all.
[zippopwnsbic23] Oh really? And how is that?
[witchywoman87] ‘Because you’re just that special,’ Zippo.
[witchywoman87] Good luck with the mission!
[witchywoman87 has left the chat]
Pyro sighed, signing off and then shutting the laptop. For a second he thought about going to the world peace and amnesty chat room just to fuck with some hippie tree huggers, but the last time he’d done that a user came on who’s mannerisms were a little too familiar for comfort.
It wasn’t Bobby. Pyro was sure of that. But someone a lot like him. Another do-gooder out to save the world, end suffering, and get the hot chicks by being shallow and nice and pretending to be something they aren’t. Fucktards.
Pyro grabbed a cigarette out of the pack next to the laptop and lit up. He wasn’t supposed to be smoking in here but he didn’t give a rat’s ass. Mystique wasn’t here, and he sure as heck wasn’t going outside in the rain again.
He needed to do something. All this fucking waiting. It was too much. Pyro absently pulled a small streamer of flame out of the cigarette. He started playing with it, willing it to take on various random shapes and forms but not really concentrating. Just letting the fire manifest a random, free-association accompaniment his thoughts as they flew by. It was a game he liked to play sometimes when he was bored. Just to see how fucked up his subconscious still was.
Pyro wished there was a mini-bar in the room. Or at least some fucking pay-per-view movies. The TV only got a few channels and they sucked. But yeah, being drunk right now would really help pass the time. It would make this game a whole lot more interesting, too.
Stupid motel.
flames forming a trailer park with Godzilla getting ready to stomp through
Stupid mission.
flames forming a cage with a mockingbird inside
Stupid boredom.
flames forming a rocket ship, a race car, a whole soccer game
Stupid loneliness.
flames forming a snowflake, a flurry of them, a snowman
Stupid horniness.
flames forming a familiar smile
Pyro stared at the smile. The flames winked out of existence. His cigarette went out, hanging from his lip. His fists balled. Clenched. The cigarette was thrown across the room as he slammed the door behind him.
Stupid game. Stupid, stupid game!
Pyro stormed out into the rain, hating himself for letting that memory still exist.
Author: lux_apollo
Rating: PG, but John drops the F-bomb a lot. It's John. *shrugs*
Pairings: Bobby/John, very mild Rogue/Gambit in this Chapter
Summary: Bobby gets help for his slipping grades. John is bored, chats with some Brotherhood cohorts via chatroom.
Notes: Thanks to sarahlu81 and miss_bushido for beta. This fic is cross posted at x_slash and fiery_snowstorm.
[ Prologue | Chapter 1 - NC17 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3]
Chapter 4
Bobby knocked on Justin’s door. The muffled sounds of loud music were leaking out into the hall. It wasn’t anything that Bobby could recognize, but it sounded tortured and angry. Not the kind of music that Bobby ever listened to, but it was still familiar enough. It was the kind of music John used to listen to when he needed to get something out of his system. It usually was a sign to leave John alone for an hour or two unless Bobby wanted to deal with a fistfight or singed clothing.
After a minute, Justin still hadn’t answered the door. Bobby sighed and knocked again. Justin was the one who chose the time for this first session, not him. You would think that he would have at least remembered-
The door opened, and Bobby was confronted with an extremely pale looking Justin. His usually bright eyes looked quite dull, and his hair was unkempt.
“Are you okay?” Bobby asked.
“Yeah. Just a bad day,” Justin mumbled over the blare of the music. He turned around and headed back into his room, leaving Bobby standing there. After a second Bobby followed him into the room. Justin did something on the laptop that was sitting on his desk. It was a Mac PowerBook G4, which made Bobby feel a little jealous. He just had a crappy Dell laptop that his parents bought him for his birthday before -well, before they found out he was a mutant. The music coming out of the desktop speakers connected to the laptop changed to something infinitely quieter and more sedate.
“If you don’t feel up to this, we can do it another time. I don’t mind, really,” Bobby suggested, wanting to get out of this if he could.
Justin shrugged, his back towards Bobby. He walked over to his bookshelf and grabbed a couple books. “Nah. Let’s get this over with. If you hate calculus as much as I did, then we might as well try and get you back on track as quick as we can. Just gimme a second, I need to put my contacts in,” Justin said tiredly. He grabbed a small container and opened it up.
Bobby looked away. There was just something about putting things in or around eyes that bothered him. Heck, when his teacher tried to put eyeliner on him for the school play in Grade Six, Bobby had squirmed so much that she accidentally poked him in the eye with the pencil. It had done nothing to alleviate his aversion. Needles he could do. Hospitals he could do. But contact lenses? They were too freaky for Bobby’s liking. Thank god his vision was better than 20/20.
“Do you already know what is causing you trouble?”
Bobby turned back to Justin. “I don’t know. Really, I think I’ve just been having trouble concentrating… I mean, I’m not doing as well in a lot of my classes, but I can keep up at least.”
“Yeah, calculus is like that. I was actually surprised Hank asked me to help you. I told him flat out that I hated math a few weeks ago. He seems to think that I’m just in denial or something,” Justin said, flashing a smile. Bobby chuckled.
“I think he thinks that about everyone. Though, I don’t hate math. Actually, I kinda like it… I guess that’s why I’m thinking about getting into accounting.”
“Accounting? Really? Well, I guess that isn’t that all that suprising. It would fit into the whole ‘All-American Good-Boy-Next-Door’ thing that you have going on,” Justin remarked. Bobby could feel his cheeks colouring slightly.
“I don’t know about that.” Bobby felt a little embarrassed for some reason.
“Whatever.” Justin shrugged. “So… I think we actually might be a little more productive if we go somewhere else. This room isn’t exactly the most inspiring setting for learning. Maybe the arboretum?”
“Uh, sure. I guess that could work.” What a weird place for a tutoring session. They exited the room, and Justin turned and locked the door.
“Let’s stop by the kitchen on the way. Studying is always better with a good drink and something to eat,” Justin suggested. They started down the hall in silence. Bobby was trying to think of something to say, but he couldn’t think of anything worthwhile. It was strange, because he never had trouble making small talk, even with people he barely knew. Something about Justin told Bobby that the blonde boy didn’t really feel like idle chit-chat.
They were almost to the kitchen when Justin suddenly turned to Bobby. “On second thought, maybe the food can wait till later,” he said much louder than necessary.
Bobby looked at him questioningly. “Are you sure? I’m kind of hungry. Maybe we should¬-“
Bobby stopped when a very flushed and embarrassed looking Rogue exited the kitchen, followed a moment later by a very happy looking Gambit. Gambit gave Justin a wink as he walked by, and Justin grinned.
“T’anks for preservin’ ma chere’s dignity, homme. De Gambit owes you one, mon ami,” Remy said appreciatively.
“De rien, mon frère. Désolé pour vous interrompre.”
“Pas ta faute.” Gambit replied, looking a little surprised. “You speak français very well, ami. Where are you from again? Quebec?”
“Northern Ontario,” Justin replied. Gambit nodded.
“Ah, de Gambit thought he heard a Canadian accent in der. Well, can’t keep ma chere waitin’. See you around… Justin is it?”
“You got it.”
“Ah, good. See you in trainin’, Popsicle.” Gambit waved, flashing a shit-eating grin. Bobby rolled his eyes.
“Yeah. See you later,” Bobby said, holding his tongue. He and Justin then proceeded into the kitchen. Justin threw a kettle on the stove and started to boil some water. If John was here, they could have just boiled the water in the greenhouse-
“Do you want tea? I’m making myself some Earl Grey,” Justin interrupted Bobby’s thought.
“Yeah, sure.” Caffeine was probably a good idea, considering his sleeping habits the last few weeks. Bobby walked over to the fridge and grabbed an orange. He sat down on one of the stools around the kitchen island and started to peel it. Justin sat down across from Bobby, and silence descended on the room.
“Thanks for getting them out of here,” Bobby said. “Whatever they were doing, I sure didn’t want to see it.”
Justin nodded. He had heard from a few people that Bobby and Rogue and broken up just a few weeks before his arrival a month ago. “Yeah… I’m not sure exactly what they were doing, but I started feeling the lust when I was halfway down the stairs.” Justin paused. “I hate bad days…” he half whispered, running a hand through his golden hair.
“Oh, when you said that earlier you meant about your powers… I thought you meant in general,” Bobby said, suddenly understanding. Justin chuckled bitterly.
“When the emotions of everyone around you are bleeding in and you can’t figure out what is everyone else’s and what is actually your own, that usually qualifies as a bad day in general.”
Bobby looked down at the orange in his hands, feeling embarrassed again. “I can’t even imagine.”
“Believe me, you don’t want to.”
“Is it always like that?”
“Nah… by about a year after my empathic abilities started getting really strong, I had figured out how to block out a lot of it… Well, maybe block is a bad word. It’s more like I learned how to keep it down to a dull roar in my head… background enough that I could separate myself from what was going on around me, but never really quiet,” Justin said. “For some reason I’ve been having more and more trouble lately. Professor Xavier says he should be able to teach me to almost completely block it out, though. He was actually kind of surprised I’d lasted this long without help.”
“I am too. We almost never get new students over the age of sixteen here. I guess usually people have the most trouble with their powers when they first appear. When I was twelve and I first started being able to make ice I was so scared. I had no idea when my powers were going to activate. Most of us who are here probably wouldn’t have made it if we had been on our own like you. If I hadn’t been recruited to come here, I probably would have went through hell.”
“Yeah, for a long time I thought I was in hell. If it wasn’t for my friend Aleks, I probably wouldn’t be here today…” Justin trailed off. Bobby opened his mouth to ask who Aleks was, but Justin had gotten up to take care of the whistling tea kettle. Justin poured them both a mug, and they headed for the arboretum.
Miss Munroe was inside, watering some of the plants with a small rain cloud she had created. “Oh, hello Bobby, Justin. Did you need me for anything?”
“No, we were just going to study in here if that’s okay with you. Justin thought it would be a little more inspiring than the dorm rooms,” Bobby explained to her. Storm nodded her approval.
“That sounds like a great idea. I’m almost done watering the plants. I’ll try not to get you wet. Just give me a shout if my aim is off!” she joked, smiling warmly. Bobby smiled. He knew that she was only kidding. Of all the teachers, Miss Munroe probably had the best control over her powers. Well, other than Professor Xavier. Bobby and Justin walked over to the long bench that was near the back of the arboretum. Bobby opened up his books to the section they were working on this week.
“Alright, just start doing some of the problems you have for homework right now. I’m going to observe what you’re doing and try to work out a strategy for you.” Justin took a pen out of his pocket so he could take notes in the notebook he had brought along. Bobby gave him a skeptical look.
“How is that going to help me?”
“You said you thought that your problem was that you couldn’t concentrate well enough. I’m going to take an inventory of your working behaviour, and from that I should be able to start an analysis of what’s going on while you are trying to do your work. Doesn’t hurt that I’m an empath, either.”
“Dr. McCoy wasn’t kidding when he said you had some alternative techniques.”
“Nah, they are mostly just tricks I learned while I was tutoring learning disabled kids back at home. Now, quit trying to procrastinate and get started. Pretend I’m not even here.”
Bobby sighed. That was easier said than done. He didn’t like being watched while he did his homework, which is why he usually did it in his room. John was the only one who had never made him feel nervous while he was trying to get his work done. Though, John more often than not would have found an excuse to interrupt him right when he was in the middle of something, just to infuriate¬-
“Bobby!” Justin broke him out of his thoughts. “Jeez, you were serious when you said you had concentration issues! You haven’t even started the first question and you are already spacing out. Let’s get going, or we’re going to be here forever.”
“Sorry,” Bobby apologized, wanting to slap himself upside the head. He started to work on the problem. This was going to be a long session, he could already tell.
* * *
[zippopwnsbic23 has entered the chatroom]
[witchywoman87] What’s up, Zippo?
[zippopwnsbic23] Not much. So fucking bored. Was going to go for a walk but it’s still raining. And this motel sucks. Even if we have satellite internet.
[witchywoman87] I’m assuming she’s out, since she almost beat you the last time you used her computer on a mission.
[zippopwnsbic23] Yeah. Went to visit that Destiny chick or something. Her new bitch since your daddy-dearest left her to rot after being cured. Told me she’d be back before we had to start the mission. Whenever that is.
[witchywoman87] *shudders* That creepy lady? She freaks me out.
[zippopwnsbic23] You met her?
[witchywoman87] Yeah. Before I met you, on the way back from Poland. She met us in Belgium and we stayed at her place until Mystique came to pick us up in the chopper. She’s so weird. I guess she’s in the US now.
[zippopwnsbic23] Why the hell do you always get to meet everyone?
[witchywoman87] Jealous that father stopped dragging you around everywhere? Don’t be. You know just as much as I do how much it sucks most of the time. I wish he’d take Pietro with him more often. Pietro would love it, for some reason.
[zippopwnsbic23] I’m not jealous. Someone else can be his fucking lackey. I was damn sick of it by the time he brought you two into this, that’s for sure.
[witchywoman87] Right, right. That’s why you and Pietro got into a fistfight last month over who was in charge of the bank robbery.
[zippopwnsbic23] Hate to break it to you, but you’re brother’s an asshole. He doesn’t listen to anyone but you and Buckethead. And I was fucking in charge. That’s why your daddy-dearest took it out on me when we weren’t as successful as we should have been.
[witchywoman87] *sighs* I wish you and Pietro wouldn’t fight so much.
[zippopwnsbic23] Tell that to him. He’s the one who thinks he’s better than everyone else just because he’s Magneto’s punk kid.
[witchywoman87] You need to stop pressing his buttons, Pyro. He just wants to do good in father’s eyes. He never really felt like we belonged with our adoptive parents. The rest of the village treated us like we were cursed because of the way mother died…
[suave_silver_69 has entered the chatroom]
[witchywoman87] We’ll talk about that some other time, though.
[zippopwnsbic23] *rolls eyes* Whatever. Hey Q. How was the party?
[suave_silver_69] Wanda, I need your help now.
[suave_silver_69] It sucked, dude. It was Morty’s birthday. How fun did you think it would be? Plus, it takes forever for me to get drunk ‘cause of my stupid ultra-high metabolism. They barely had enough to go around, and you know how Fatso is with the beer. I’m glad he was late getting there or I wouldn’t have even gotten a buzz.
[witchywoman87] What happened?
[zippopwnsbic23] Ha ha ha. I’m almost glad I was stuck here in the middle of nowhere.
[suave_silver_69] Dominic passed out in father’s office and puked all over the couch. He had a bottle of ouzo stashed in his room but wouldn’t share with anyone and then finished it himself. Selfish bastard.
[witchywoman87] What do you need me for? Make him clean it up!
[suave_silver_69] Can’t. I got him to the bathroom to throw him in the showers, but he started puking again and then passed out. Loser.
[zippopwnsbic23] Bwa ha ha ha! Serves the fucker right! You should have left him there on the couch ‘till Buckethead found him!
[witchywoman87] Damn it. Is he alright?
[suave_silver_69] Call my father Buckethead one more time and I’m going to rip you a new asshole when you get back, faggot.
[suave_silver_69] He’ll be fine. Just needs some water and Gravol or something. And a shower. Are you going to help me or not, sis? Father’s going to be back in less than an hour.
[zippopwnsbic23] I’d like to see you try, Quickdick. Besides, I thought you weren’t in to ripping other guys assholes. *smirks* Or did you mean rimming?
[witchywoman87] I’ll be there in a sec.
[suave_silver_69] Fuck you, Allerdyce.
[zippopwnsbic23] You wish, Zippy.
[suave_silver_69 has left the chat]
[witchywoman87] *sighs* Could you two at least try to be civil? For me?
[zippopwnsbic23] For you? Maybe. I’m not giving you any guarantees.
[witchywoman87] Thanks. It means a lot to me.
[zippopwnsbic23] Whatever.
[witchywoman87] Now to go clean up another mess you males got into. God, why did I have to be the only female on this island other than Mystique?
[witchywoman87] I’ll see you when you get back, ‘kay?
[zippopwnsbic23] Because you’re just that special.
[zippopwnsbic23] Sure.
[witchywoman87] *rolls eyes* Sometimes I think you’re the worst of them all.
[zippopwnsbic23] Oh really? And how is that?
[witchywoman87] ‘Because you’re just that special,’ Zippo.
[witchywoman87] Good luck with the mission!
[witchywoman87 has left the chat]
Pyro sighed, signing off and then shutting the laptop. For a second he thought about going to the world peace and amnesty chat room just to fuck with some hippie tree huggers, but the last time he’d done that a user came on who’s mannerisms were a little too familiar for comfort.
It wasn’t Bobby. Pyro was sure of that. But someone a lot like him. Another do-gooder out to save the world, end suffering, and get the hot chicks by being shallow and nice and pretending to be something they aren’t. Fucktards.
Pyro grabbed a cigarette out of the pack next to the laptop and lit up. He wasn’t supposed to be smoking in here but he didn’t give a rat’s ass. Mystique wasn’t here, and he sure as heck wasn’t going outside in the rain again.
He needed to do something. All this fucking waiting. It was too much. Pyro absently pulled a small streamer of flame out of the cigarette. He started playing with it, willing it to take on various random shapes and forms but not really concentrating. Just letting the fire manifest a random, free-association accompaniment his thoughts as they flew by. It was a game he liked to play sometimes when he was bored. Just to see how fucked up his subconscious still was.
Pyro wished there was a mini-bar in the room. Or at least some fucking pay-per-view movies. The TV only got a few channels and they sucked. But yeah, being drunk right now would really help pass the time. It would make this game a whole lot more interesting, too.
Stupid motel.
flames forming a trailer park with Godzilla getting ready to stomp through
Stupid mission.
flames forming a cage with a mockingbird inside
Stupid boredom.
flames forming a rocket ship, a race car, a whole soccer game
Stupid loneliness.
flames forming a snowflake, a flurry of them, a snowman
Stupid horniness.
flames forming a familiar smile
Pyro stared at the smile. The flames winked out of existence. His cigarette went out, hanging from his lip. His fists balled. Clenched. The cigarette was thrown across the room as he slammed the door behind him.
Stupid game. Stupid, stupid game!
Pyro stormed out into the rain, hating himself for letting that memory still exist.