Study D-A-T-E [Bobby]

[Chain]

He’d agreed to a study date and that thrilled Kelly beyond all belief. She’d been working on dealing with the cold and could probably last a little longer. But then she had contingency plans placed. She’d taken a hot bath with her peach bath stuff and was looking through her closet. She pulled out a pair of black tights and an off the shoulder snug fluffy pink sweater. She checked her hair and makeup after getting dressed and slid on a snug pair of gloves.

Once satisfied she looked good she went to the small table she had to make sure that she had her books and then checked on the snacks. She also had a t.v. and movies in case they decided to take a break. She had bought a couple of those heated cushions for her to sit on so she could stay warmer longer without it affecting Bobby. Once everything was set up the way she wanted she waited and hoped he’d actually show.

[Iceman]

When Bobby had watched Kelly walk away after their date, he could have sworn he heard the imperial march from Star Wars play as she moved in slow motion towards the doors. She was trouble. There was no getting around that now and all Bobby Drake could do was fear for whatever was left of the control he had over his life. What he had clung to so desperately was now slipping through his frozen fingers and when he had watched that blonde walk away from him the other night there was something about her that was either going to be the death of him or save him. With a brief game of phone tag, Bobby felt his options close in. What could he do? Push her away again or just let her in and let her make those judgments that he was afraid of?

Hopefully, she had actually meant that she wanted to study. He had gathered his books as if nothing was wrong and started heading down the halls; knowing that he was already a dead man. His features didn’t look pleased, or annoyed, or anything. As per usual his features were frigid with an icy air about him that rocked in apathy. His frosted hair stuck up in multiple directions as per usual; not bothering to tame it like he had the night before. He wore a pair of jeans and a white and orange baseball tee-shirt and made his way to the girl’s dorms with his books under his arms. He stopped at the doorway, trying to make that final decision but his hand already spoke for him and he knocked on the door.

[Chain]

Bobby wasn’t late not by a long shot but Kelly was starting to convince herself he wasn’t going to show anyway. She’d pushed too hard or maybe he just thought she was overbearing. She could be and she knew it. She’d damn near chewed all the peach lip gloss off her lower lip in her worry about him not showing. The tiny blond had reapplied it twice already. But everything was set she did have her books and her homework in case she needed something to fall back on. No sense in scaring him off if he actually showed. But then this would be a challenge to him in a way and neither of them would back down from a challenge.

The tiny blond jumped and spun when there was a knock on the door. Once more she checked her appearance and then let out a breath. She didn’t dim the lights or anything like that because she didn’t want him to freak that bad. With a grin she opened the door and tilted her head back to look up at him. ”You made it. Come on in.” She stepped back so he could enter. ”I got a table set up over there. Can I get you anything to drink?” She’d waited until he entered before she shut the door. She still had no idea that his ice form wasn’t his natural state she just thought it was part of his mutation. Kelly crinkled her nose she really didn’t like the word mutant. ”Make yourself comfortable.” She grinned up at him. Now that she got him here what was she going to do with him?

[Iceman]

Honestly, he probably thought Kelly had a set up like this all the time. His translucent eyes drifted to hers before doing the very natural thing in a teenager’s progression. He checked her out as discreetly as he could. With the attention that Kelly had shown him thus far, Bobby was almost prepared for some sort of saucy remark. He walked into the room and tried to gain his bearings. He was on enemy soil (figuratively) and was thus a tad afraid for his life (figuratively). Bobby smiled, “Well, I got lost on the way but the guy with the donkey directed me back this way. He said to tell you ‘hi’,” he quipped with a shrug as his eyes scanned the room.

He wasn’t sure if he pictured it any other way. Compared to his it was like he was in a nice hotel and, so, he almost felt like he didn’t belong there. His brows shot up a bit at the arrangement and he seriously wondered if her room was just always like this or not. He adjusted the books under his arm and headed for the table at the instructions to make himself comfortable. This time, Bobby Drake would have to be on his friggin game. No more weaknesses. No more games. Nope. No more senses of security. He set his cargo on the table top and sat at one of the chairs. “Um, sure. What d’ya got?” he asked in regards to a drink; never necessarily needing it anymore but it would be nice to have at least some distraction.

[Chain]

Kelly watched as he scanned the room. Honestly, save for the homework set up since she usually used her desk, this was pretty much how it always was. It was feminine but contrary to popular belief it wasn’t all pink with white wicker. She went with more creams and golds than anything. She even put in some carpeting, sort of. More like it’s a temporary fix but it’s the kind you just want to run your feet through. She didn’t miss him checking her out but then again she was doing the same thing to him. He really was gorgeous enough to make her pulse pick up. When he made the comment about getting lost, she looked up at him very seriously, except for the sparkle in her eye. ”You met, Jose? Oh he’s such a sweetie great for directions.” Then she started giggling.

The tiny blond bent over to look through her mini fridge. ”Dr. Pepper, Mt. Dew, and Cherry Coke.” She looked over her shoulder at him and grabbed a Dr. Pepper for her and then the one that he requested. She came back to the table and sat down looking at him. ”Can I ask you a personal question? You can tell me to screw off. But is this your natural form? I don’t mind it, kind of like the look of it, I was just wondering.” Kelly was pretty sure he’d tell her piss off and walk out but she wanted to know. If it wasn’t his real form maybe she could help him if it’s possible. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth and looked up at him. ”Sorry, I’ll understand if you want to leave now.” She set the sodas down and sighed a bit.

[Iceman]

Bobby laughed heartily when Kelly played off his joke and shook his head. She was on that same page that Bobby had hoped no one would really attempt to do. His attempts at being weird would go fruitless and that first joke proved it. She had to get that he was absolutely about as essential as an asshole on her elbow. Unfortunately, he also didn’t want to do that; which tended to throw a wrench in the plot most of the time. There was still hope yet, though. As the can of Cherry Coke was set on the table in front of him, he needed the distraction of opening it. He had to think about this. How was being a walking ice cube anyone’s “natural form”? It was a bitter thought and, unbeknownst to him, it brought his personal defenses a form of leverage. His jaw set and his eyes averted; narrowing at nothing in particular but the idea of having to admit that he changed into this by accident and he couldn’t change back.

“Well… it’s been my natural form for about a year, I guess. I dunno,” he let out a tart sigh. He almost wanted to spill everything but had a feeling that it would all just be too much of a burden to tell this blond. “It used to be like a layer of ice over me and stuff but I could always absorb it. Got into an accident while like that and my chest actually kind of broke I guess. Like it was made of fucking glass,” he shrugged his shoulders as he tried his hardest not to sound angry about it. “It repaired itself but then I just kind of slowly changed into this. Tried everything and couldn’t stop it.”

“Considering you didn’t ask when we first met, I think I’ll stick around if that’s cool,” he recovered with a forced slight smile and he opened up his Intro to Accounting book. He picked the pen from behind his ear and flipped his notebook to a fresh page and tried to keep his head level.

[Chain]

Kelly liked his laugh and wanted him to do it again. She just thought he was being funny and didn’t realize it was his attempt to push her away from him. As he reacted to her question she mentally kicked herself and tugged a lock of hair. A sure sign that she was frustrated with herself for being so stupid. She never should have asked but she wanted to know if it was something that she could help him with. Of course if that happened he’d definitely be able to have any girl he wanted and would probably end up leaving her without a shot in hell. But that didn’t matter as long as she could help him. She was quickly starting to like this boy on a deeper level with each moment they spent together. She highly doubted he felt the same way but one could hope.

The blond listened as he spoke without interrupting. Her heart went out to him but she didn’t pity him. She had her answer now it was something she could help with. She just needed to start figuring out why he couldn’t stop it and how to help him go back. ”I’ll help. I mean if you don’t mind I would love to help.” The words were said softly as she chewed her bottom lip. He’ll probably get pissed at her for offering. The boy had pride, was stubborn and a bit of a chip on his shoulder she knew that much. She moved to sit next to him and slid into his lap. Her arms rested around his neck as she looked him in the eyes. ”I’m not going anywhere. Regardless of if we can find the solution. I like you, you know that so yeah, let me help.” She kissed him softly. There was no pity in her eyes just the want to help him. She didn’t think she stood a chance with him until this got resolved and she wanted to try having something with him.

Kelly slipped off his lap and sat back down in her own seat. She smiled at him when he said he wasn’t going to leave. ”That’s cool.” She winked at him and sipped her drink then got out her own book. Blue eyes looked up at him and she got a wicked grin on her face. ”I’d rather be kissing and watching movies….. “ She actually blushed a bit before looking back down at her book.

[Iceman]

The last thing on Bobby’s mind was the availabilities of girls when he got control of himself. In fact, now he was just out and out nervous and found that there was some anger bubbling within his icy surface and was building up to crack through. His brow arched at her offer; almost offended at the idea that Kelly would just offer to help. “We’ve got one of the most powerful telepaths in the world here. Nothing,” he said bitterly while his jaw clenched and relaxed only to clench again. The organic ice elastically molded with his expressions while he still tried to process the offer. He felt the warmth of her body shift to his lap and his gaze dropped to Kelly’s with almost a bit of resentment in them. Was it really that easy for her? Was it so easy that Kelly could just not mind a guy that was made of ice, couldn’t feel anything but the shift in the temperature, and basically was a walking Freudian mess? She could just be okay with that?

Why the fuck was Kelly Wilson so well adjusted?

Warmth drifted to his lips and did not move to kiss her back. His eyelids just slid shut for a moment until she left his lap. He could still feel the bitter fruits squash under the pressure and spread those sour juices through his chilled veins. He didn’t know if he could work through all of this. He tried for years to work through everything. No words came, though. He knew he wouldn’t be able to speak without being a complete bastard. He looked down at his book and started working through some problems in his book. He caught her blush out of the corner of his eyes and let out a drawn out sigh and leaned back for a moment and took a sip of his Cherry Coke. “You are twisted, you know that?” he by no means meant that as a joke, but he most certainly never intended for it to sound as harsh as it must have.

[Chain]

She fucked up and bad. It wasn’t that hard to tell she averted her gaze so that she stared at her lap. ”I’m sorry…. I don’t ever think before I.. Never should have…” She’d seen the anger and the fact that she offended him and it hurt her that she did that to him. When he mentioned not even the psychic helped she flinched. For the first time in a very long time, if ever, Kelly doubted herself. If Xavier or Jean couldn’t help him than who in the hell was she to even try? She knew it wouldn’t stop her though, she just might not be able to him what she finds out.

She pulled her legs up Indian style in the chair and placed her book in her lap. Her had was bowed and blond hair covered her face as she studied the book. Well looked like she was reading it anyway. How could she have been so stupid? She was smarter than that damn it but for some reason this boy just really got to her. Her head snapped up when he called her twisted and she thought about it. Slowly she shook her head. ”No, not twisted. I told you once before that I see you. I don’t look at you. I don’t see the ice covered body I see a really good looking boy with a fun and carefree streak hidden inside of him. I see a man that will fight with all that he has to protect those closest to him and a potential lover that would probably put all others to shame.” She shrugged a bit and looked back down at her book. ”I see someone I’d really like to get to know.”

[Iceman]

Initially, Bobby wasn’t sure hot to react. Hell, he wasn’t even sure what had just happened. He just knew he could feel his pulse clatter just so in his temples both from just the nerves of tonight’s implication and now that simmering temper that he seemed to be executing on the blond that had only offered to help. “Forget it. It’s fine.” His tone was still a bit sharp and bitter but it was all he could do to keep from getting up and leaving.

He still wanted to call bullshit. With each time she said she didn’t see the limitation of the ice, he could bring himself to believe it. After all… it had taken a mind wipe for people to be able to part with him alright. Bobby faked his way out of town and ended up telling his parents later. That did a lot of good. He remembered his parents face when he’d explained just what he was and now he was here. Made of ice and way more bitter than a blizzard could be. With each word she said, he almost wanted to prove her wrong. Show him that he was, in fact, a bastard like the rest of ‘em. He let out a long, practically pained, sigh. “I still say twisted,” he protested with a light, shallow laugh as he finally looked up from his book and over at Kelly, trying to make a joke out of this.

[Chain]

Kelly just kept staring down at her book and blinking rapidly. Her blond hair was shielding her face so he couldn’t see her expression. The back of her hand rubbed against the tip of her nose as she tried to focus on the book, unfortunately the pages had begun to blur. When he said forget it and it was fine she knew it was a lie. She flinched at the tone. ”No, no, no. I shouldn’t have said anything. You don’t know me well enough yet to know that I never say anything I don’t mean. I shouldn’t have offered even if it was genuine. I didn’t stop to think about how it would have sounded and I’m sorry.” She really, truly, honestly wanted to help him and she’d do the research. Hopefully he’d want to see her again after this and get to know her better so he’d understand she really meant what she said.

Finally, cloudy blue eyes looked up when he called her twisted again. She knew he meant it as a joke but it kind of pissed her off. She was twisted because she a person and not a walking ice cube? That kind of hurt but then again he didn’t know her either. ”I’m not twisted. Maybe a little crazy because I want to kiss you again even after making a jerk of myself but not twisted. I can’t explain it because you wouldn’t believe me anyway. Hell you probably took one look at me and thought Bimbo Barbie.” Everyone else did which is one of the reasons she tries so hard not to do that to someone.

[Iceman]

Bobby didn’t know what he could say to make this better. His reaction had been out of line and somehow Kelly thought that his bad attitude was his fault. How fucked up was that? Here he was, going into the frozen douche bag mode that he relied on so much and Kelly was apologizing for genuinely wanting to help. She wasn’t the twisted one. He was.

His gaze lifted from his book. “Bimbo Barbie?” he asked as he quirked an icy brow; not sure where that came from. When he first saw her there was nothing that read bimbo. Hot? Hell yeah. Bimbo? Pfft! There was something that seemed to hint in the back of his head that his joke hadn’t gone over as he’d hoped. The attempt at making light of the now awkward situation seemed to just fail and all Bobby could do was flounder in his failure. “That wasn’t what I thought at all,” he said almost weakly as he tried to regain control of the conversation. He looked at Kelly; trying to figure her out and failing.

[Chain]

Had he not been in the room she'd have been banging her head off the table right now. She had to figure out how to salvage this. She'd made a complete mess out of everything and now she had to figure out how to save it. She tugged on her hair as she thought about how to fix this. There had to be something she could do. "You want me order some pizza?" Where did that come from? There was a good chance he couldn't or didn't need to eat and she just stuck her foot in it again. "I'm just going to go and lock myself in the closet now. I'm sorry I messed this up so bad, I didn't mean to." Unfortunately, she had to get past him to get to the closet so she tried to scamper past him.

She stopped when she was right next to him at his words. "Bimbo Barbie... You know, oh my god their's a cheerleader quick, open up the bleachers she needs a place to sit. Here comes teh bouncy blond lock up the football team... Bimbo Barbie." Kelly just kind of blinked at him when he said he hadn't thought it at all. Wasn't that what everyone thought the first time they met her? Lord only knows there are usually audible groans when she first enters a premise. After a brief moment of indecision and since she figured the night wasn't going to be saved anyway, Kelly took a chance and leaned over and kissed him.

[Iceman]

Bobby’s shoulders came up into a shrug at the offer of food. He didn’t mind it. He couldn’t taste it, but he knew he liked it. The mutant’s eyebrows raised as Kelly stated that she was going to lock herself and he almost wanted to flounder around and ask what the hell he’d done wrong. Great! Just great. He’d managed to mess all of this up because he had to be, as Kitty called it, a bitter bunny. (He would exact frosty vengeance on her for even getting that phrase in his head.) “You don’t need to be sorry,” he said simply with a shrug. After all, Kelly handled this all probably better than he even did.

Bobby’s brow stayed arched at Kelly as she described ‘Bimbo Barbie.’ Nope. Still never thought of that in regards to the blonde next to him. Really, if he held that kind of disrespect for her upon first impression, he wouldn’t be here right now. He shook his head simply, almost reiterating that he never thought that. His eyes widened as Kelly leaned in and he felt he knew what was coming. He wasn’t wrong but this time he wasn’t prepared to resist the kiss back and molded his frozen lips to hers this time.

[Chain]

Now she wasn't so sure what to make of the situation. He wasn't opposed to the pizza and he said she didn't have a reason to be sorry. For the first time in her life Kelly was a bit lost when it came to something like this. Finally and quickly she regained her balance so to speak and looked at him. "Yeah I do, I shouldn't have overstepped by offering to help. I often speak what's in my head without it going through the Do Not Speak filter. I didn't occur to me that you'd be offended or upset that I offered. Although honestly, had I been thinking I would have realized it and at least given you the chance to get to know me first. I've never been one to not say what is on my mind and it causes me end of trouble. Just bear with me? Don't write me off just yet and I'll get better at this."

When he kissed her back Kelly slid into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. She'd be damned if she was going to go down without the metaphorical fight. Her tongue traced over his bottom lip before she kissed him again. Yes she couldn't keep the kiss for near as long as she wanted and she knew he couldn't 'feel' it, but maybe, just maybe he'd understand the intent behind it. She like him, she really truly liked him and she wasn't going to give up on a chance with him, iced or not.