In A Little Over My Head [Kelly]

[Iceman]

Robert Louis Drake had been scared of a lot of things. Most of them, naturally, had been selfishly limited to his own psychological problems. Abandonment issues, self-loathing for being a mutant, self-loathing for being a terrible son, not being able to change back from this permanent state of frozen, change; they all were things that Bobby constantly flinched at. Never once, though, had he afforded himself to actually be afraid of another human being. Kelly Wilson scared the crap out of him. There was just something dangerous about a girl this forward, this determined. Especially when she had set her sights on Bobby. He had no idea what all of this was and while he was immediately repulsed at the idea of letting anyone try and get close like this, his intrigue remained. It left him curious.

So, there Bobby Drake was. Going on the first date he’d been on since he had been recruited by the X-men. It seemed ironic. Bobby remembered being in his mid-teens with no idea he was anything special and he certainly didn’t look it. Now it was a good three or so years later with a power that (if he ever chose to explore) could make him unstoppable that he couldn’t control and now looked like a walking ice sculpture. Back then, he had waltzed right up to the girl’s door and confidently offered his arm and they were on their way. Now, however, Bobby was pacing in his own odd way. In an elevated, dipping figure eight looking pattern, he slid on a ramp of ice. Around, dip, around, up. What was he doing here? Why had he agreed to this?

It wasn’t until he heard the creaking of the back door that Bobby’s attention leapt off the idea of himself and dropped to the ground to land on the grass; absorbing the ice quickly to keep from spoiling just what he might have planned. Instead the mutant took on an arrogant stance like he had before he’d left Kelly. The sleeves of his black thermal shirt was rolled up on his icy forearms, the red polo shirt over it didn’t look like it had been pressed; neither did his jeans. Honestly? Bobby looked the way he did just about any day except with an attempt made on the icy shards of his hair to look less like a bed headed mess. His lips lifted into a smirk as he remained in his playfully impatient stance. Here goes nothin'...

[Chain]

OMG but Kelly was excited. She wasn’t stupid the girl started getting ready for this date the moment she woke up. It was like junior prom all over again. She’d gone through and bought a whole new ski outfit just for this outing. The tiny blond was far from stupid, she knew if she wanted to get close to him she’d have to be bundled up. She also bought a couple of chapsticks as well. That made her a bit naïve but it was her logic and it worked for her. Her outfit consisted of a pair of black leggings, Ugg boots, a pink sweater and pink jacket, and a pair of gloves if she needed them. She pulled her hair up into a pontytail and add some make up. She had taken along hot bubble bath with the peaches and cream bath set that she had purchased. She loved it because there was shampoo, shower gel, bubble bath, and body lotion. The stuff was designed to layer and not over power so just a subtle scent was all one got. Like the hint of peaches on a warm breeze, according to the advertisement.

Finally, she was all dressed up with some place to go. Kelly made her way to the pool and she was even on time. Usually, when it came to the tiny blond there was a fifty-fifty chance on if she was late or not. She stepped into the pool and looked up to see him. Damn he actually looked good in that ‘I don’t give a shit’ way. Kelly walked up to him and looked him up and down. Taking in his stance she smirked a bit. ”I’m not late. You look good.” She turned slowly so he could check out her outfit. ”Told you I’d be bundled.” She moved so she was toe to toe with him and tipped her head back. ”You didn’t think I’d show, did you?”

[Iceman]

There was a moment where Bobby hadn’t frozen time. It just seemed that way as Kelly walked out. His expression didn’t hint at that fact, naturally. He wasn’t stupid. It was made fairly clear that there was almost a figurative game of chicken at stake. They were going to see who was going to bend first and Bobby was not about to give up this sort of admiration so early on in the game date. Instead he simply smirked and feigned a roll of his icy eyes before settling them back on to the blonde. “Right on time,” Bobby sighed, almost disappointed sounding, while he caught the scent of peaches and softened his expression. He didn’t have to worry about the blush that would have hit his skin if he were made of flesh. Honestly? He almost felt ridiculous being dressed like this when, well, Kelly had pulled off the ski bunny look well.

“Well, I thought I was going to give you a few more minutes to show before I would have just ruled you a chicken,” he teased with a smirk. His eyes remained on hers for a second longer than he would have liked and nodded to the pool. “You ever ice skate before?”

[Chain]

Kelly watched the young man and smirked a bit. So this was how he was going to play the game date. This was going to be fun and a challenge. She hoped she was up for it, but seriously doubted that she wouldn’t be. Her head tilted a bit. ”Disappointed Ski Bunny Barbie knows how to be on time?” The words were said with a teasing lilt and followed by a wink. She reached up and acted like she was dusting some lint off his shoulder as her eyes met his. Kelly got on tip toe and leaned close to his ear and whispered. ”You really ready for this? I don’t think you’ve ever actually met a girl like me.” She placed a small kiss at the where the hinge of his jaw is located. The girl was a nigh on unstoppable when she was interested, and for some reason, she was interested.

The girl grinned at him and cocked one hip and placed her hand on it. ”Chicken? Me? Darlin’ the only yellow running down this back is my hair.” The words were said with a very good Southern drawl and she winked at him again. ”Nope, I’ve skied before, but we never actually went ice skating. Which is kind of odd now that I think about it. So, is that what we are going to do? If so you have to promise not to let me fall.” When she said those words was when his eyes lingered on hers and suddenly they took on a whole new meaning to her.

[Iceman]

“Just thought that Ski Bunny Barbie had more sense than showing up,” he said simply with a shrug. The smooth movement of her gestures went entirely unnoticed until Kelly had leaned up to whisper in his ear. Well, she was right. He hadn’t met a girl like her before and Bobby was still desperately trying to figure out if that were a good or bad thing. He felt the warmth on his jaw and exhaled a shallow breath that his frozen lungs forced out in a condensed fog of breath. “Can’t say I have,” was the reply he gave; remembering just how it used to feel when lips touched his skin. He was captivated, the question was how long he would he be willing to let himself get comfortable like this.

“Well, you could say that’s what we’re going to do. Sort of,” Bobby hinted with a smirk while he debated on making some sort of show out of their activity for the night. “I just need to make sure you can keep up at least a little.” Bobby’s lips remained in a smirk. “You’re not going to fall, trust me.” His eyes locked on Kelly’s; trying to figure her out. She was pursuing… but why? Better yet! Why was he letting her? He hesitated backing away for a moment before he turned to the pool and touched a finger to the surface and watched the contents of the in ground solidify in sheets of ice.

[Chain]

Kelly flipped her hair over her should and gave a mock scoff. ”Honey, please, I’m a blond, I can get away with not having any sense.” She grinned up at him and wondered exactly how many times he’d been hurt and who was stupid enough to hurt him. ”Good. I want to make sure you remember me.” She rocked back on her heels and gave him a full on smile, dimples and all. Most would say that she wanted to fix him, that she could see something that was hurting and wanted to fix it. That wasn’t really the reason. There was just something about him that she liked so she wanted to explore the whole situation.

The girl furrowed her brow a bit as if trying to figure out what he meant. ”Good thing I like surprises.” He was cute when he smirked. ”I can keep up, just might take me a minute.” She stuck her tongue out playfully then and giggled a bit. When his eyes locked on hers and he told her trust him she gave him another genuine smile. ”Don’t ask me why, but I do trust you.” Kelly couldn’t explain it but she did actually trust this boy. Maybe it’s because he seemed as curious about her as she was about him. The girl nearly frowned when he backed away figuring she scared him. That was until she watched him freeze the pool. ”That’s so sweet.” She went over to him and knelt down gingerly touching the ice. Her head turned and she grinned up at him. ”Awesome. What are we going to do?”

[Iceman]

If Bobby had thought those coy smiles had a pull to them, that dimpled grin shifted the concept of gravity to magnetically drag his interest right back to her. Had he the sense to think straight and revert back into selfishness he would have pulled all of this back and maintained the control he constantly held on to, perhaps he wouldn’t be in this situation. He should have stayed wrapped up in his own misery but it was just too difficult when someone smiled like that at him. Surely this girl would pick up on the simple fact that Bobby Drake was not worth getting to know, yet alone fixing.

He grinned when she said she trusted him. Damn. He had nothing bad planned, but he’d figure a normal girl would have found a boy made of ice planning anything to have been a hint to run, take cover, and possibly never call him back. With their eyes locked, however, Bobby Drake knew that there was no way Kelly could be normal. Seeing her reaction to what had happened to the pool, he couldn’t help but let a wide grin reach his features; a smile that was reminiscent of before his features shifted from flesh to frost. “You’ll see,” he said simply with a shrug and created a set of unnecessary skate blades on the bottoms of his shoes. “First I need to teach you to skate, though.” He looked at her boots and almost wished he had told her to bring ice skates. “I need your foot,” he instructed as he sat by the ledge of the pool and makeshift ice rink.

[Chain]

Kelly looked up at him and at times wondered if she hadn’t seen that spark of something in him. He pulled off the ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude well enough to be convincing. Then she saw it, that crack in his emotional armor, so to speak. Good she was glad to know she wasn’t wasting her time on this guy. She couldn’t explain it but she had a funny feeling there was an amazing guy underneath all that cool (pardon the pun) exterior. Now Kelly had a mission and the poor boy had no idea what he was in for. Fix him? No she didn’t want to do that but help him find himself again? Now that she’d be more than happy to do. He was in there somewhere and she was just the girl to draw him out to come and play.

She reached up and brushed her fingertips along his forehead. Had his hair not been frozen she just would have moved it from out of his eyes. For some reason she could see him having that mischievous little boy thing going with his bangs in his face. She dropped her hand and grinned at him. ”I’ll try to wait, but it’s going to be hard.” She held up her foot when he told her too. ”Should I invest in ice skates?” Short of saying ‘I’ll probably want to see you again’ she didn’t think she could get much clearer than that.

[Iceman]

Bobby blinked for a moment as he felt the warm of her hand touch his forehead. His eyelids had slipped shut at the very slight feeling he had with the touch. He couldn’t feel the soft flesh or the contours of her fingertips. He felt just enough warmth where he knew she was there. His defenses dropped once more as he almost wanted to lean into the touch and into that subtle heat that came from her fingers. His lips lost their smile and just rested for a moment. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the warmth was gone and Bobby’s eyes opened; the icy translucent blue caught hers for a moment before he snapped right back into what they were doing.

“It’ll be worth the wait, trust me,” he said simply with a shrug of his shoulders and the lift of his lips into a half smile. In a quick, precise moment Bobby ran his hand along the bottom of her boot and created a makeshift skate and did the same with the other. “Probably would be a good idea to get some,” he answered before gazing down at Kelly as he stood back up from fixing her boots, “that is, if you’ve decided you haven’t bitten off more than you can chew.” He scoffed at the though and then offered a hand to Kelly in order to help her to their personal rink.

[Chain]

Oh my… was the only thought she had for what seemed like forever. His guard was down and they were just looking at each other. Kelly idly wondered what he saw when he looked at her. Most just saw an airhead, a slut, or whatever other insult they could come up with. ”What do you see when you look at me?” She hadn’t meant to ask the question, but she expected the usual, a blond bouncy cheer leader. Kelly looked down at her hands not sure if she really wanted him to answer that or not. Most don’t see the way she does. She doesn’t look at people she sees people. It’s why she doesn’t see Bobby as a block of ice.

”Sounds like it will be fun.” Tries to stand up on the skates and starts wobbling. ”Come on balance, don’t fail me now….” Kelly grabbed a hold of Bobby’s forearms to keep herself from falling. When he issued his challenge her eyes looked up to meet his. ”Looks like I’m getting new skates. You didn’t really think I’d back down after challenging me like that did you? I’d near bet you’d run well before I would.” She got a haughty arrogant smirk on her lips and one blond brow went up. ”You have no idea what you are getting yourself into. “ The words were whispered against his ear as she held onto him and leaned against him.

[Iceman]

Her question threw Bobby off for a moment but didn’t necessarily interrupt just what he was trying to figure out about her. Despite his own odd appearance, Bobby was typically very judgmental with those around him. Actions or just a general first impression was enough to cast someone on Bobby Drake’s bad side. If that sort of negativity persisted, that but a person on his shit list. It was, typically, a challenge to get on the frosted mutant’s good side so quickly and that was if they bothered to after being pushed away so much. Now, though, as he looked at Kelly, she was on that edge that could teeter her to his good graces or tip into falling on the wayside with just about everyone else that Bobby ignored. “I don’t know,” he confessed honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m still trying to figure it out.”

Bobby let her brace herself by holding onto him when they got on the ice. “I keep hoping that you’re going to back down,” he snickered with a boyish half smile. It seemed that the blond was just as stubborn as he was and it was both grating and absolutely intriguing. Still, though, Bobby could quite let this girl win. His pride bellowed against the very idea of this. “I’ll start trying to grasp what I’m getting myself into when you don’t need me to hold you up on the ice,” he replied simply but made no move to initially part their forms. Still, he was trying to figure out what he was looking at. A slut wouldn’t have been this persistent. She wasn’t stupid, either. She saw through his dismissive behavior and seemed determined to figure him out.

“I figured out what I’m seeing,” he said simply as he started to slowly skate backwards easily; bringing Kelly with him while his playful expression maintained on his features. “Trouble.”

[Chain]

Kelly watched as he tried to figure it out. She just wasn’t sure if he had understood the question or not. A small smile touched her lips when he admitted he didn’t know. ”Good, you understood the question. A lot of people don’t, you know. The start in on blond hair, blue eyes, and so forth. But you understood and that’s awesome.” That dimpled smile returned in full force. ”I don’t think you quite realize I don’t see the outer shell. I don’t see a boy made of ice I just see a boy. Or young man if that makes you feel better. This doesn’t scare me.” The girl was actually very honest and the only time she played any games was when she was flirting, or in this situation seeing who cracked first. But there was nothing hidden about her agenda, she’ll flat out tell someone what she wants and she’s not afraid to work for it.

Her head tilted at his comment. ”Do you really want me to? I know the difference between making someone uncomfortable until they get used to me and my attention on them being unwanted. If it’s unwanted let me know. I’ll back off. Just know one thing though. I really truly do want to get to know you.” Kelly fully prepared herself to be told to get the hell out. It would hurt but she’d understand it, sort of. At his comment about understanding what he was getting into she smirked. ”Then you’ll never start understanding because I’ll always need you to hold me up. Isn’t that part of the fun and reason behind ice skating?” Kelly skated with him though rather wobbly and it was more him pulling her along than her actually skating. When he finally told her what he saw that dimpled smile returned. ”Baby, you ain’t seen trouble yet.” She tugged on his arms to bring her closer to him and she winked up at him.

[Iceman]

Bobby remained quiet as he looked down at Kelly and couldn’t help but let his slight smirk remain on his features. She didn’t see the ice? He had that urge to call bullshit but there was something that kept nagging at him to listen to her. He wanted to pull away and he knew that he should be. Talking with a walking ice sculpture didn’t disturb her in the slightest and yet it took Bobby months to even accept that he had been slowly turning into organic ice. How was she so easy to accept this when Bobby was still failing to?

Bobby skated slowly in front of her; pulling her along. He made no move to release her. He was still stunned at her, just the idea of Kelly. It was staggering. He couldn’t respond. There were no words. “You’re actually okay with having to bundle up in order to go out with a guy? Year round?” he asked skeptically, almost testing Kelly for a moment. His eyes stayed on hers as if there were some sort of answer in them where he could find something other than the validation behind every word she had said. Bobby Drake smiled as she closed in more of the distance and chuckled as she winked. “Apparently not,” he supplied as he looked away for a moment before an impish grin hit his expression.

In a fluid motion, Bobby scooped Kelly into his arms to carry her and started skating faster. After a full lap around the pool, he leapt upwards. His skate was met by a ramp of ice. He looked down at her while the slide went right back to the pool and he touched back down on the surface. He smirked for a moment and set Kelly back down carefully. “Hrm. I guess that is the reason behind skating,” he said casually as if ice slides were a regular thing. They were for him, at least. Not so much for everyone else. He looked down at her with a sly expression while his eyes still tried to read Kelly’s resolve and if it had shifted.

[Chain]

He was fascinating the hell out of her. Trying to be such a badass while trying to hide is vulnerable all at the same time trying not to let her break through. He just fascinated her that was all there was to it. Everything about him intrigued her at this point and the color of the ice he was incased in was nice too. That made her giggle a bit. They kind of did compliment each other in a strange way.

”Of course I’m ok with it. I went out and bought an entire new ski wardrobe. I’ve got some of the hottest ski bunny outfits out there. I wouldn’t go out with you and make you look bad. I don’t care what time of year. I bundle up in winter you keep me cool in summer. Hello… perfect boyfriend thing going on here.” That dimpled smile flashed again. ”I might kiss you. I’m warning you that now.” At least she warned him but that was because she didn’t want to freak him out too bad. ”Never doubt or challenge me, might not be good for your mental health.” She blew him a kiss that time.

There was a squeak of surprise when he scooped her up. Her arms automatically went around his neck and she looked him in the eyes. ”OMG this is friggin’ awesome.” Kelly was laughing and having a blast. She almost pouted when he set her down. She looked up into his eyes again. ”Remember when I said I might kiss you?” Slides her arms around his neck and pulls herself up on the tips of her ice skates. ”Well I’m going to kiss you now.” Kelly kissed him full on the lips and pressed herself against him not even caring about the cold.

[Iceman]

Bobby had taken Kelly’s warning to heart. Honestly, he didn’t know just how he would ever respond to all of this had his own bravado not driven him into all of this. He was too stubborn to back out now and they actually seemed to be hitting things off. He was being lured into that sense of security that he always seemed to doubt. Even if it was trusting into something as simple as a toothpaste brand, he would second guess himself. Her rationale made him let out a scoff. It really wasn’t about anyone making either one look bad. It was about what was comfortable for her. Bobby could really only feel changes in temperature at this point. There wasn’t all that much he could find uncomfortable aside from just his general existence. And, honestly, he was curious to see these outfits; in pure teenaged fashion.

The ice slide had been an interesting impulse for a test. If she couldn’t handle it, she couldn’t handle him. Simple. She could and Bobby almost wanted to curse under his breath initially until he really listened to the sound that sang out. He liked hearing her laugh. Why couldn’t she have come along like a year ago? Before all of this. For a moment he looked down at her; still trying to find some sort of answer to the riddle that this night had held hostage within her gaze. Before he could protest or event crack a joke, her lips touched his and again he relied on the warmth to his mouth and the simple memory of a kiss to tell him what was going on. This time, though, there was no hesitance. He kissed her back while his arms wrapped around her waist. His frosted eyelids shut slowly in their kiss. There were no words. No jokes, no bitter remarks. Nothing.