Valentine Blues
"I hate Valentine's Day!" Jubilation Lee flounced onto the rec room couch in a shower of sparks and pillows.
Across the room Angelo Espinosa sat and gazed morosely out the window. "I ain't gonna argue with you there, chica." Outside Paige and her clone Tristan were tumbling around, enjoying an impromptu snowball fight.
"If I have to look at one more cutesy red heart, or see one more evil cupid, I'm gonna puke."
"Umhm."
"Who came up with this stupid holiday anyway? I think there should be an anti-Valentine's Day. Black hearts, black roses, movies were chicks spend the entire thing kicking some guy's ass…"
"Yeah?" Tristan playfully 'chased' Paige around and caught her in his arms. What does she see in him?
"Yeah! Black cherry jello shots and 'Kiss Me and You're Dead' buttons and…"
I mean what has he got? Besides money and a nice car and a normal face and…
"And a murdering bastard of a grandfather." Jubilee interjected.
"Que?" Angelo gave her a startled look.
"You asked what idiot boy had that you didn't."
"Oh." He turned back to the window.
"While I'm all for dating outside the x-angst circle, that's just desperate. Tristan, I mean."
"True. Although I don't see you making any effort to date some of the norms."
"Yeah, well." She gave Angelo a blistering look. "It's not an issue right now anyway. Ev's pissed at me."
"What'd you do?" Ange squinted as he tried to make out what a dark shadow lurking by the house was.
"Set M's hair on fire." She shrank back against the couch as she suddenly found his shocked gaze pinned on her. "It was an accident! I don't know why she made such a big fuss about it," she grumbled, "It's not like she doesn't still have most of it left."
Angelo snorted. "And Ev saw it and started in on you." He returned to staring out the window. The shadow was moving, slightly. Paige nuzzled Tristan's neck once more before shoving him away and dashing off around the corner of the school. Tristan landed flat on his back in the snow.
"...although there's another screwed up relationship if I ever saw one. Stuck up ice queen. Ange? Angelo?" Jubilee sighed. "Y'know, ya gotta deal with Paige's stupidity, 'cause you're startin' t' remind me of Sparky." She sprawled out on the couch. "Didja hear that? Ange?"
Angelo ignored her, engrossed in the scene unfolding before him outside. The dark shadow had moved away from the house and revealed itself to be Jono, enraged and ready to do battle. Tristan, unaware of the danger he was in, stood up and began to amble off after Paige. Almost delicately, Jono raised his hand to his bandages and pulled them down.
KRZZZZZZZZKT!
Angelo's jaw dropped. Could he do that? The blast had caught the blond boy in the middle of the back and lifted him off the ground with its force. He flailed nervelessly for a moment before turning to ash, leaving a dull gray powder on the snow. Seemingly satisfied with his work, Jono headed back in the direction of the boys dorm, his psionic fire still blazing.
Well there's one solution, he thought dazedly.
"What was that?" Jubilee leapt off the couch and shoved Angelo away from the window just as Jono disappeared from sight.
"Nothing." He sat for a moment and tried to absorb what had happened. Tristan was dust. That was fine by him. Hallelujah, even. He wasn't about to tell Frost what really happened although Paige needed to be told something. Maybe a freak electrical storm or an alien abduction. Si, that sounded good. And with Tristan gone... He grinned. "Maybe you're right, Jubecita." Time to step up or out. He wasn't Mama Espinosa's smartest boy for nothing. Paige would be back to normal in what, a week? Two? 'Course, he'd have to watch out for Jono, but the way he operated that could be months away! He poked Jubilee in the side. "So are you actually gonna do anything for Valentine's Day, or was that all talk?"
She gave him a sly smile. "I've got a box of Jello if you've got the rum."
"Deal."
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