Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 19:56:49 -0700 (PDT)
From: Adrian Ali <phoenix_587@yahoo.com>
Subject: My XXXmen series 8

Phoenix here. Okay once again thanks to the people at Nifty's. Thanks to
everyone who's joined my group. Thanks to the people who've sent me alla
those emails to help keep me inspired.

As always, thanks to Jake and Rick, Mike and Carlos. You my bois.

Thanks to the ever supportive Chellebelle, I'm comforted to know that
someone cares.

To Alex-Dude, I'm trying to aim for the sex, but I want to make sure the
story is believable too, so please bear with me. And I confess, it's going
to be new ground for me, the most I've ever done with a guy is swap
spit. So I will have to-for want of a better phrase-research this.

Thanks for the kudos Chad H.

To gogo, for all those kind words and all the messages. I'm especially
grateful to you, you probably know more than anyone what I'm going through.

***Special Thanks to my now favorite ex editor Tom. I got your email, and I
gotta sy it was very encouraging. Sad to I'll probably never take the
advice and get this revamped and published, 'cuz I'm in the closet and will
most likely be there for eternity. i never wanted to write anything like
this for that reason too, it was more so I could get it out of me, not go
crazy and be open SOMEWHERE. But your words REALLY meant a lot to
me. Here's to you!***

{}-Telepathic conversations.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I got up early the next day. I wanted to have some time to mentally prepare
myself for the ordeal of facing the guys again. Both Scot and Bobby had
said that things weren't as bad as I thought they were, but I just wanted
to make sure. Besides, Bobby had hinted that Amara was mad at me for
bringing her up, in the argument that Ray and I had going on the day
before. I didn't know what to make of that, but if I made Amara mad, hell,
thatwas a good thing in my book. I seriously disliked her now. Maybe as
much as Jean disliked Emma Frost. I got dressed, and began pacing the
floors in my room, back and forth. It's a habit of mine, more than once
I've been told it's annoying, but I didn't give a damn about that, it helps
clear my head.  When I felt that I was ready, I opened my door and went
downstairs. It was currently 8:30 am. Classes officially began at nine. As
luck would have it, the first class I had that day, was a mutant
class. Elementals, with Ororo a.k.a. Storm. What this meant, was that I'd
have to face Ray again. I went down the hall. The rest of the guys just
usually hang out in the Rec-Room before classes. No doubt they'd all be
there. I decided to go there myself. I couldn't act like a coward all the
time, couldn't hide myself from them. Besides, Bobby said that they weren't
all that mad at me, and I had promised him I'd be there too. The night
before, he said he'd hold me to it. I couldn't help but feel extremely
privileged at having a friend like Bobby. He really pulled me through some
stuff here at the mansion. Last night's blue funk was no exception. I still
had the hots for him, no doubt. *Sigh*, I guess Fate had other plans in
mind. I'd better watch myself around him. With Jacob gone, I'd be a horny,
horny teenager soon enough. Hell, I'd have to rely on jackoffs for a while.

Jacob.... I wondered if he was mad at me. He didn't react anywhere near as
mad as I thought he would,when I broke the news to him the day before. I
knew he was mad at Bobby, the look he tossed him made even me cringe. And
the fact that he was more than hesitant to replenish Bobby's energy in the
Danger Room, confirmed it. I had tried as hard as possible to suppress our
Mind Link. Thankfully, it seemed to be working. I had to not only withdraw
physically from him, but mentally as well. It would be...easier that
way. Until, he learned to get along with Bobby. If he really loved me, it
couldn't be that hard. I was a bit thrown off that he didn't even try to
rally support for my plan in the Danger Room. What was an even tougher
blow, was the fact that he didn't at least try to calm Ray down. Hell, he
said he loved me. He used to say it all the time. Didn't he love me enough
to act like a regular, run of the mill friend and put in a good word for
me? And then there was Amara to think about. I wondered how she would take
it when she saw me. She probably was mad I'd blamed her for Jamie's knock
out. Hell, it was true and they all knew it. Although Ray wouldn't admit
it.

Well, there's the Rec-Room doorway. I'd made it. Now to take the first, and
hardest, step. Bracing myself, I opened the door. I didn't want to just
waltz on in looking at them. I just looked at the floor and headed inside,
slowly. My plan was to just act like I came there on my own and if they
called me over, then I'd go. That way it wouldn't look like I went over to
them begging for forgiveness, and it'd be a good tester to see if they were
mad or not. If they called me over, I'd know everything would be normal and
I'd act normal. If they didn't call me over, I'd know they didn't want to
have anything to do with me. Either way, I'd know how to act. And I'd avoid
any possible embarassment too, always a plus. I finally mustered up the
courage to look up. I saw them all on the long couch, in front of the
Bigscreen. Jamie and Roberto were playing video games on a PS2. John and
David were arm wrestling, with might and main. Jacob was in a corner by
himself, reading. I didn't see Jubilee or Ray there. Neither Amara, which
was ALWAYS a plus. I heard Bobby before I saw him.

Bobby: "Hey, Rick, wait up!"

Wait....he was behind me? What was he doing there? He should have been in
here before me. I timed everything right. So in case anything went wrong,
I'd only have to spend a minimum of time with them. I stopped, waiting for
him. I was a little thrown off. Was I just going to go greet them all, and
Bobby wouldn't have been there in the room with me? Gulp. He was the only
one of them who talked to me since yesterday. I don't why, but it made me
feel a whole lot better that he was there. He had caught up to me by
now. He was breathless, as if he had been running.

"Uh-Bobby?"

Bobby: "Yeah."

"Where were you coming from in such a hurry?"

Bobby: "Your room."

My room? What was he-

"What-were you doing in my room?"

Bobby: "Not in, outside of it actually. I was waiting with the guys out
here and it was getting late. I thought you were gonna be a no-show, so I
went up to your room to see if you were still there."

"Oh, I was coming, but-"

Bobby: "Which side of the staircase did you take?"

"The left, why?"

He hit himself on the head.

Bobby: "So that's how come I missed you. Anyhow, you gonna go in, or stand
around here all day?"

We went in. Bobby walked in his usual confident stride. I lagged somewhat
behind him. Still a little nervous. He made it over to them before I
did. Now that I was here, I was suddenly hesitant. Bobby, however would
have none of it. He actually came back and pulled me into the group.

"Uh-hi guys."

I expected the worst. I guess I didn't give them enough credit. They didn't
even admonish me in the least about the day before. As a matter of fact,
they surprised me.

Jamie: "I'm glad you decided to stay Rick."

"Huh? How did you kn-"

Roberto: "Bobby told us. I'm glad you saw sense too."

I looked over at Bobby in pure gratitude. I told him how much I appreciated
it too, mentally.

{Thanks Bobby, for everything.}

Just then John and David came over, and pretty soon, things seemed back to
normal. I mean, I didn't know how Ray, Jubilee or Amara would react to
seeing me again, but things seemed okay between us here. I glanced at Jacob
and called out telepathically.

{Hey.}

{Jacob: Hey. You all right?}

{I'm coping. You?}

{Jacob: I'm not, but I will be, when you decide come back to me.}

{When you decide to drop your grudge against Bobby. What if some other gay
guy had it in for me, what would you do then huh? Besides, I see you have
an admirer.}

{Jacob: Yeah, I'll have to figure out how to let her down easy.}

{Why bother? She'll just move on, all on her own. She bounces back
easy. Hell she dealt with my rejection, Bobby's and Roberto's all in two
days. She can't have her heart broken.}

{Jacob: I-I'm over the Bobby thing. It's okay, he's just your friend. I
trust you, just come back.}

{You didn't want to heal him yesterday Jacob, replenish his energy. You
realize that if you didn't, he wouldn't have been able to shield me from
the Sentinel's hit yesterday? What if something like that happened on the
field? I want to be sure. And I doubt that it would take you only one day
to get over it. I'm going to tell you something.}

{Jacob: What?}

{You know that I told Ms. Grey about your fight yesterday?}

{Jacob: What? Why?}

{She sensed something was wrong and badgered it out of me. Anyhow, when I
told her about Bobby, she was all for telling the Professor. But I tried to
calm her. She said she'd talk to Bobby, and if he dropped charges, she
wouldn't tell. You know that she did talk to him yesterday?}

{Jacob: So now I'll have Xavier on my case?!}

{You didn't let me finish, and you don't give him enough credit. He dropped
it. You're off the hook. He took the first step Jacob. He let it
slide. Think about how you made him feel in the Danger Room when you didn't
want to help him. He actually stood up to Ray for me, even listened to my
plan. Why couldn't you do that? I just said we had to stop, you know.... I
didn't say we couldn't be friends until this got sorted out.}

{Jacob: I was just-upset, that's all. But, if I had it to do it again, I'd
mind control Ray and make him listen to you.}

I smiled at that. At least he wasn't going to give me a difficult time and
make things harder for me. He smiled with me, weakly, but it made me feel
better. He had something to ask me though.

{Jacob: Rick, just promise me one thing.}

{What?}

{Jacob: Promise me that you'll wait for me. Give me a chance to
change. That you'll still be there waiting for me. And while you're
waiting, you won't-you know-be with anyone else. Just-we are still a
couple, right?}

{Yeah, we are. And I promise, I will Jacob.}

{Jacob: One more thing, could you call me Jake once in a while, it's always
Jacob, now with you.}

{Okay Jaco-Jake. And this could be good for us. As friends we can get to
know more about each other before we commit our lives to a serious
relationship. I just don't want to rush things and end up getting hurt,
that goes for you too, 'cuz, I really, really love you Jake, I might not
say it often, but I want you to know it, okay?}

{Jacob: Same here. But, let's try and not spend too much time away from
each other, okay? Let's try and sort this out in good time, I don't want to
be away from you longer than I have to be. It feels like you left me
completely, I only get hushed mumbles from our link.}

{I don't want to mind link for a while okay. That's something we'll have to
give some time.}

{Jacob: I understand, it's okay. Mumbles are better than nothing. Still, if
you ever need me, I'm just a mind link away.}

{That goes for you too.}

We were snapped out of it by David.

David: "Why are you so quiet all of a sudden Rick?"

"I was just thinking."

David: "Oh. Jacob, aren't you going to at least say Hi to Rick?"

It plain slipped me that Jacob hadn't said a word out loud to me in all
that time. It must have looked odd.

Jacob: "Hi Rick. Everything all right?"

It was but a poor imitation of what we'd just shared. I decided to ask them
what I'd been longing to ask them.

"Guys, ah, is Ray mad at me?"

Jamie: "Well, he was yesterday, but Jubes said she was gonna "Persuade" him
to get along better with you."

"Persuade him?"

John: "Oh hell, she's gonna lay him out."

Roberto: "Either he behaves, or he ain't gettin' any."

David: "And we all know how cranky he gets when he doesn't get any!"

We all had a good laugh.

"So Jubilee's not mad at me for cussing out her hubby?"

Bobby: "Nah, she told him he should have listened to your plan, then she
wouldn't have chipped her nails trying to pick up and throw those spider
mines."

I'd have to thank her for it. No wonder they weren't here this morning,
probably slept in late, after goodness knows what. I wondered where Amara
was. I had the distinct impression that she was going to try real hard with
Jacob. Guess I was wrong. Still, I liked it that she wasn't here next to
him. We relaxed a bit more. Then bell went and we all had to go to our
individual classes. Jacob had to go to his Advanced Biology class with
Mr. Mcoy, Jamie had to go for a Mathematics class. Roberto, Bobby, John and
I had Elementals with Ororo and David had a study period. I sighed, I
wondered how Ray would take seeing me after my explosion. I would be seeing
him next in Ororo's Elementals class. John and Roberto went down the
hallway, to Ororo's class. I was lagging behind, partly because of my Ray
paranoia, and partly because of Jaco-Jake.

{Jake: So uh-I'll see you later huh?}

{Yeah. See you later.}

Bobby: "Rick, you comin', or you wanna be late and have to deal with
Ororo?"

{Bye Jake.}

{Jacob: Don't say goodbye, say see you later, let's just leave it at that.}

{Okay, see you later.}

I turned and left, following Bobby and the others in the direction of
Ororo's classroom.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bobby: "Now, just go in there and don't give a fuck if Ray wants to be a
Bitch, okay?"

"Uh-okay."

John: "Don't think he will though, I mean after Mr.Summers talked with
him."

Roberto: "Yeah, and let's not forget bro, you got Jubilee on your side. Ray
may act all badass, but he really loves her. He can't deny her anything for
long."

Bobby: " 'Cuz then she starts denying him."

I appreciated their encouraging words. Amara was supposed to be here
too. After all she was an Elemental. With that we went in. Most everyone
else was there. This was already my most trying class, if Ray wanted to be
a jerk, it could become even harder. Ororo hadn't tried to fool us. She
made it perfectly clear that learning to control Elemental Energies was not
going to be easy. A lot of Mutants with Elemental Powers never fully learn
to control it. Fortunately for us, we had her for a teacher. She had the
most perfectly balanced self-control. Always patient and encouraging. And
to cap it all off, she was the Ultimate Elemental. She had the Elemental
power so under her heels that she could manipulate their vast,
incomprehensible energies, to the point of Weather Control. She was so
powerful, that even as a child in her homeland of Kenya, she was recognized
as one of Great Power. Her home tribe, not knowing anything of Mutations or
Genetics, thought of her as a Goddess come down to Earth. In truth, she was
very beautiful, inside out, had an unflawed character too. And Power? I
knew that she was affectionately called Goddess here at the Mansion too,
either that or Weather Witch, if someone was in the mood for a joke. Her
usual codename was Storm. It's self-explanatory really. I was willing to
bet that she could very well be the most powerful of the Xmen if she were
roused. I saw a glimpse of it in the Professor's Office, when she "Talked"
to Scot about his hassling me. Even Professor Xavier seemed troubled, and
he's a real stiff.

She gave us accounts of her own experiences dealing with the Power. I could
tell that she had a hard childhood, not knowing who or what she
was. Considered a Goddess by her home tribe, but a Demon to rival
tribes. They had fought tribal skirmishes over her, to control her and her
power. Many chiefs wanted her to bear their children, with the selfish hope
that the children would inherit her Gift. Her parents had died in a bomb
blast in Cairo, Egypt. She herself was trapped under the rubble of the
cataclysm for days before she was rescued. It left her severely scarred
emotionally. She developed claustrophobia-the fear of enclosed, restricting
places-because of it. She had to live on the streets. Picking pockets for a
wicked man she didn't care to tell us more about. Until the fateful day she
picked the pocket of Charles Xavier, then much younger, and with the full
use of his legs. He was in Egypt, enjoying a tour of the Pyramids. Fate had
delivered her to salvation. Hearing of her life always gave us inspiration,
and made us ashamed whenever we thought thoughts like,

{"This is too hard. I can't do it, it's too much power to control."}

{"I can't take this anymore."}

{"Why did this have to happen to me!"}

She had been through so much, and we hadn't. We didn't even have the burden
that she did. She had to watch her emotions, keep them on a tight leash at
all times. I could relate somewhat. Sometimes when I got angry, the air
would grow hotter, when I was scared, it could cause seismic
vibration.....among -other things. But if she let her emotions rage out of
control, we could very well see the likes of hurricanes, tornadoes, hail,
sleet and snow. As such, we all took her class very seriously. Not all of
us had serious control issues, some were lucky enough to just have minor
flaws. Unfortunately, I was never very lucky. This class was my main reason
for being here at the Mansion. And there was no way I was gonna let Ray (Or
Amara) ruin it for me. That said I glanced around looking for Ray. Ororo
hadn't come into class yet. It was then that I saw him come in. Luckily for
him, Ororo was running late. I did see Amara though, she was on the other
side of the room. Flirting with some boy. Guess, she had moved on. I sure
hoped so. Ray was making his way over to us. I put on the best tough guy
look I could manage and waited for whatever bomb he was going to drop on
us. He came over and took a seat.

Ray: "Hey guys, how's it hangin'?"

John: "Low, and a little to the left."

They laughed, even me. At least it was nothing like yesterday. If they were
willing to pretend that nothing out of the ordinary had happened, I was
more than agreeable. A couple of times I saw Ray looking at me, even went
so far as to open his mouth-though no words came out-no doubt trying to
figure out how to say sorry. I gotta hand it to Jubilee, chick sure works
fast. He didn't get to attempt it much more though, at that moment Ororo
came into class. She immediately apologized for being late, but she had
some matters to attend to. Without further or do, she began the day's
lesson. I expected it to be like the others, where she'd pit us against
each other and we'd have to struggle, using only Elemental Energy to take
the other down. By pitting us against different people each time, we'd
learn which Element had advantages over which. She didn't want to just tell
us, she wanted to make sure we learnt from experience. But today's class
would be different, instead of pitting us against one another, we would be
in co-operative mode today. She was going to expound on the Balance of the
Elements in Nature.

Ororo: "Nature is the Ultimate Force at work on this planet. A major aspect
of its Power, lies within the Elements. Even the Ancients realized this
Primal Fact. Albeit, in a way different from our understanding. But it was
always there. Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and Electricity, the Elements. Even
though we posess the Power to manipulate these Elements, we must never
forget that what we are doing is manipulating Nature's Balance, for good or
ill. As such if we don't maintain control at all times, even the best of us
can throw things out of alignment. Now I know that many of you have
differences of opinion. The Pyrokinetics, for example, think that Fire is
the ulimate Element."

John: "YUP, DAMN RIGHT!!"

Ray: "What?!! Sit your ass down!"

Ororo: "See what I mean? And the Electrokinetics beg to disagree. But the
plain fact is-No Element is superior to another in isolation. Certainly a
particular Element may be better suited for dealing with a particular
threat, but no more. Amara, Rick, won't you agree?"

Amara: "Well, I guess, I mean, I have Fire and Earth and I like 'em both
just fine."

I heard the Bitches lecherous thoughts. The way she broadcasts them.

{Amara: Uh huh, Fire makes me HOT! And Earth, I get 'em all Rock hard!!
They sure get their rocks off when they're wi-}

I cut her off mentally, she was so full of herself, it was disgusting. I
mean, sure she was...beautiful. Why do some people insist on projecting
their thought so loud? But she didn't have anything on Jubilee, and Jubilee
wasn't such a slut.

Ororo: "And what about you Rick? You have all five of them within, as do I,
what do you think?"

"Well, um, I think they're all great. Sometimes, it's best to use one or
the other, but they all have their use I guess."

Ororo: "For the last few classes I've been matching you against one
another, for you to get an appreciation of the other Elements. Now I want
to make sure that you haven't developed disdain for those who control a
different Element. We should all count ourselves blessed that we have been
entrusted with Nature's most powerful of gifts. In Nature all the Elements
work together. The rainwater and earth yield fruit, vegetation. Lightning
helps fix Nitrogen in the soil. The wind is the result of uneven heating of
the ground by the fiery heat of the sun. Even the Ancients saw that our
physical form was made from the Elements of Earth, 26 of them, carbon,
sulphur, nitrogen, iron and the like. We have the warmth of Fire within
us. Our blood pulses with Water. 80% of our body mass is due to water. Our
minds work via Electrical nerve impusles, our breath is as of the Wind. So
we are all the Elements combined, working in tandem, which is what we shall
be doing today."

This was getting interesting. We would be working together? Would be a new
experience too. Before, she had us fighting it out. I wondered what exactly
she had in mind. She soon clarified.

Ororo: "If you would be so kind as to join me outside, we will begin
today's exercise. I have cleared it with Professor Xavier and the rest of
the teachers. We will have a little outdoor excursion in the backyard for
this morning."

Girl: "Yes! At least now we won't have that algebra test with
Mr. Mcoy. Ms. Munroe is now officially my fave."

Ororo burst her bubble though.

Ororo: "All upper level Algebra students of Mr. Mcoy's, your test will be
this afternoon, sixth period, hope that didn't ruin your opinion of me
Jan."

With that we followed Ororo outside. The Mansion, 1495 Graymalkin Lane, was
rather secluded, and the grounds were vast. No surprise, for everyone's
safety, it was best that the school be kept away from prying eyes. And the
vast grounds gave ample space for outdoor courses. Ororo led us outside and
made us sit down on the lawn. Without further or do, we saw her
focussing. Her eyes went white. The next thing we knew, we were surrounded
by thick, billowing fog. We were honestly not expecting her to do that. It
sure cut down visibilty, I couldn't see a foot in front of my face.

Girl: "Hey! Whose hand was that on my ass?! Roberto, if that's you, your
head's gonna roll!"

I heard Roberto snicker.

Roberto: "It's not me Sharon. I wouldn't dream of layin' a hand on your
ass!"

Girl: "Huh? Why, what wrong with it?"

Roberto didn't answer. She kept pestering him, girls, lol. Ororo didn't let
us indulge in frivolities for long though.

Ororo: "I take it that you know that this is fog. Do you know how it's
formed?"

>From my Geogrpaphy classes I knew. Whenever warm, moist air passes over a
cool surface, like water, cooler air, the cold ground and the like, fog and
mist are possible. Ororo explained it for the benefit of the class. For
those who never bothered to take Geography.

Ororo: "So, how'd you like to try it?"

Was she for real? Sure we were Elementals, but we couldn't-control the
weather.

John: "But Ms. Munroe, we can't do that."

Ororo: "Why not? This is simple."

Bobby: "Well, how?"

Ororo: "Think of it like this. Each Element has Mundane and Subtle
aspects. Take Fire, for example. It's lower aspect is the actual flame, but
it's true property is HEAT. That's what I control, the subtle heat. You've
never seen me throw out flames have you? Water's true property is cooling,
Air, is movement, Electricity is vibration, Earth is stability. So if you
work together, to move warmer air over cooler air, you can make fog,
together. Care to try?"

She banished the fog that she had created. For the next hour, she had us
visualizing. Trying to FEEL the heat, FEEL the coolness, FEEL the
movement. To be painfully honest, I did find it a bit humorous. I mean, it
sounded like the stuff artists talked about sometimes,

Feel, the paint, become one with the paint, lol.

Anyhow, in her own way, I supposed Ororo was an artist. After our
introduction to the theory, it was time for the practical. This was going
to be a stretch. I wouldn't say that we were in rival gangs or anything
that farfetched, but there was rivalry. The Hotheaded pyrokinetics for
example, always tried to show-off. Thankfully, the Hydros kept their
cool. The Terrakinetics (Earth Elementals) were accussed of having rocks in
their heads and the Electrokinetics were far too unpredictable. The Sylphs
(Wind Elementals) were far too perky for my taste. I didn't know where to
fall in. I was multi-elemental. So was Amara, she just went along with the
Hotheads however, her newest boy toy was among them. I was about to go over
and join the Hydros with Bobby, but Ororo summoned me over. I wondered what
she wanted to say.

Ororo: "Rick, is everything okay? I heard about your ordeal yesterday from
Scot."

"Everything's okay now Ms. Munroe."-I felt it best to refer to teachers
properly when in a class.

Ororo: "You're sure?"

"Yeah. Just got a little hotheaded."

Ororo: "Oh, okay, well, you seem to be getting along well with the rest of
the students, so I guess everything's okay."

"Ms.Munroe, I don't know who to join. There's the Fire people, Earth
people...Water, Wind, Electric- Who should I go with?"

Ororo: "Actually, that is why I called you here. You'll be with me."

"You?"

Ororo: "Yes, You have the full complement and I'm going to make sure that
you learn to use it to full capacity."

The ramifications of her statement hit me.

"Ms. Munroe?! You don't-You CAN'T think that I could, Do that do you?"

Ororo: "Why not? You have everything you need, the Five Elements, and you
are going to get training from the best in the business. That's me by the
way."

"But, you are talking about combining them. I only combined two together
before, like Fire and Water to make Steam. Besides, you just said that what
WE control is the Mundane form of the Elements. I don't see how-"

Ororo: "There is no reason you cannot learn. You think I started out
perfect, I still am not."

"Did my dad learn how to?"

Ororo: "No, he was coming along fine too, but for some reason, he decided
he didn't want to continue his tenure here at the Mansion. Pity...anyhow,
now they've sent along you to be my apprentice, so what do you think?"

"I don't know, it sounds hard."

Ororo: "It is, I'll have confess, but don't tell me you're afraid of a
little work. If you have the potential, why not develop it, the others are
trying. They are working together too, for a change."

"So, what do you want me to do?"

Ororo: "How about trying that Fog creation? Do you remember how Fog is
formed, or do you want me to explain it again?"

"It's okay...I took Geography, and we had a lot of Weather topics and
Meteorology stuff."

Ororo: "Excellent. At least you'll have an undertanding of how the weather
forming processes work. So, want to give it a try?"

"Okay, I'll try with the Fog."

And to be honest I tried. Got nothing for my efforts too. I just couldn't
seem to focus on three Elements at a time. My limit appeared to be two. And
to create these complex weather phenomena required subtle energies from
multiple Elements. I tried warming air above ground. That was simple
enough. And I preciptated cold water on the ground, but I couldn't use Wind
to move the warm air downwards, to come into contact with the cold
water. Hot air has a habit of rising, a no no for Fog. Ororo would allow me
to use actual water for now, but she expected me to be able to use subtle
energies eventually. It was frustrating. What was worse, I heard Amara
snickering. When I glanced over at the rest of the guys, I saw that they
had been having great success. They Hotheads had had warmed the air, the
Wind Elementals had moved it down, and the Hydros had cooled the lower air,
without actual Water, just cooling energy, the essence of water. The Fog
was billowing around them, Ororo was beaming, no doubt proud. I felt
stupid. She must have seen the crestfallen look on my face. She walked
over.

Ororo: "Keep persevering Rick. Rememeber, they got it so fast because they
worked together, they each had only one Element to focus on at a time. If
you keep practising, you'll be able to combine three eventually, you are
almost there already. you just need to believe in yourself. I know you can
do this."

Just then Bobby came over, with a proud grin on his face. I didn't doubt
that he was the one who did most of the cooling back there. He already had
the true essence of Water nauturally. He walked over to me and asked what I
was doing.

Bobby: "What are you trying to do over here."

"Fog."

Ororo explained what she was trying to teach me to do. I explained to him
my predicament, I just couldn't focus on three Elements at a time.

"I'm really, really trying, but this is just too hard, I can't keep
focussing on three Elements long enough, whenever I try, I lose control of
the other two. I've been trying an entire hour. You guys're lucky, you got
it in half and hour."

Bobby: "Hey, I have an idea. What do you say, I cool the ground, and you
just focus on warming the upper air and bringing it down. For
starters. Then, when we have the fog going, I'll start releasing my
control, and you can slowly take over. Can't learn to ride a bike without
training wheels."

Ororo: "Excellent idea Robert! Pity I didn't have that advantage when I
started."

We got to it. Bobby focussed on cooling the ground. That left me free to
warm the air, and use Wind to bring it down into contact with the cold
lower layers of air. Mist began to condense, essentially, cloud formation
at ground level. In no time at all, we had the fog billowing about us.

Bobby: "Okay, I'm going to start lessening power, that air is going to stay
warm for a while, so hold off some of that power in warming it and focus it
on cooling the ground, okay?"

"Yeah."

While, Bobby was cooling the ground, I made sure that upper air was really
hot, so I could lay off on reheating for a while. As soon as Bobby left off
cooling the ground, I took over. With only having to focus on Air and
Water, I had the fog going good. It was really getting thick.

Ororo: "Yes, Rick, you're doing it! Just-careful-careful..even the best of
us know when to stop.."

I was spending so much energy cooling the lower air, that the fog was
starting to form ice crystals.

Amara: "Urrruugh! It's f-freezing, h-hold me Steve."

Hmph! If she was so hot, why didn't she just morph into her Fire Form?

I realized I had beter stop. The fog lingered though.

Ororo: "Now to dispel the Fog. Anybody know how?"

Turns out, only us Geography students knew what she had in mind. Heat the
air, and it would rise, taking the fog upwards and away from the
ground. And the morning continued. She didn't want to keep the Earth and
Electric sudents out of the act. What she had in mind was Lightning, not
just basic Electric discharge. This time, all of us would have to work
together, in smalll groups. We'd need Fire's warmth to heat the Air. A
source of moisture, hence Water, Air to move it all along-(All this for
storm clouds), Earth-to accept-and stabilze- the charge and Electricity to
supply the power discharge. Bobby wanted us to go join Ray, John and
Amara. Roberto was busy with that Sharon girl. I didn't know if it would be
a good idea. I didn't think Ray would give much trouble, but Amara.....The
way Bobby figured was this. He'd supply moisture, Amara would use her Earth
power to accept Ray's charge, John, would give us the heat, and I'd supply
the Wind to sweep the warm, moisturized air mass upwards. He went to them
and called them over.

Bobby: "Now, just try to get along with Ray, to hell with Amara-just ignore
her if she says anything."

No problem there. Once again, Ray took the lead. I just shut my mouth. I
wasn't going to try and start anything up again. Not two times in two days.

Ray: "Okay John, get that lighter out and start heating, Amara stand ready
to accept the charge, Bobby, bring on the moisture....Rick, just move the
whole thing up when they say it's okay."

"Yeah...okay."

And this worked okay for a while. By Amara's using the Earth force,
wherever she focussed, Ray's lightning discharge hit the ground there. Ray
seemed to be enjoying himself. As long as Bobby, John and Amara kept their
thing up, he'd be able to blast lightning. I had to keep moving air up, to
maintain the clouds. But I didn't see why Ray should have been the only one
to have fun. He paused momentarily. I could control two Elements at once,
and I was currently only controlling wind. So I decided to blast a bolt
myself.

ZAP!!

John: "Whoa, Ray, take it easy! Yu wanna start a fire?!"

Bobby: "I bet you'd get off on it, you're the Pyromaniac."

Ray: "It wasn't me-who?"

"Um...sorry. I just wanted to try it."

Ray, however, was not impressed. He began blasting bolt after explosive
bolt into the area that Amara was focussing on. I figured that with John's
heating, the air would keep rising for a bit-Thank God I took Geography-so
I relinquished the control of Air. I focussed on Earth, on a different spot
that Amara was focussing his lightning on. Now, focusing on only,
Electricity and Earth, I sent a bolt there instead. Ray looked shocked-no
pun intended-okay a little one. He started forming bigger bolts. Not one to
be bested, so did I. John and Bobby were cheering us on. Amara made some
comment about US MEN. But if Ray wanted to play this game I could too.

Ray: "Amara, can you focus on more than one spot on the ground at once?"

Amara: "Sure thing."

So that was his game. He started flinging bolts down in several differnt
locations. I started to do the same. Mustering as much power as I
could. What was more, I arranged eight spots of Earth around me, in a
circle. Then I started raining bolts in sequence, like a carousel,
spinning. Even Ray shot up an eyebrow. Good, he noticed. Ohter students
were coming over by now to enjoy the lightshow we were putting on. Ororo
appeared to be enjoying it herself.  Not one to be put of Ray joined in on
the action. Eventually we went back to single bolts of lightning. We were
both running out of juice by then. I thought that Ray was going to Bitch at
me. But instead he proved to me how unpredictable Electrical elementals
could truly be.

Ray: "Not bad."

"You, too."

We were still blasting the bolts, but weak ones. Almost nonchalantly.

Ray: "Listen, Rick, about yesterday...I didn't really mean to say alla
those things to you."

"You think them. And you don't just say them to me, you say them ABOUT me,
like behind my back."

Ray: "And I'm sorry about that, it's just-"

"It's Jubilee, isn't it? You hate me 'cuz you think it was me who threw her
inside the mansion?"

Ray: "I don't hate you...and Scot explained to me that it wasn't you, not
really."

"What about you accusing me of trying to take over your leadership?"

Ray: "I was..."

"You were..."

Ray: "Okay, I was wrong. I should have listened to you and at least heard
your idea before I made a team decision. Look it's not easy for me to take
advice sometimes okay. I've had to make it on my own."

I looked over my shoulder. I could see Ororo nodding her head in
approval. I guess, in our own way, we were talking things through. We
eventually came to a compromise. And I got the feeling that he was being
genuine. I'd really have to talk to Jubilee as soon as possible. Ray must
really love her if she could make him change himself so fast. Wonder if
Jake'll change for me that way? He extended his hand and I took it to mean
a handshake. I shook it, and he shocked me! Literally. I shocked him back,
it ended with us laughing. Everyone was tired by now and Ororo decided to
give us the rest of the morning off. It was almost lunch time anyway. I
could tell that she was proud that we'd all come through on this.We decided
to go to the Rec-Room and rest until lunch. First thing first, we'd go back
to our rooms and get a shower and change of clothes before that. I went
back to my room happy. Sure, that Bitch Amara hadn't said a word to me, but
hey, Girls...Who Needs 'Em anyway...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jubilee was a pretty smart girl. Hell, she had to have the street smarts to
make it on her own. She grew up in a plush section of Los Angeles, and had
it all. Then her parents died and left her Aunt and Uncle trustees of their
fortune. Unfortunately, Jubilee could never get along with them. It wasn't
her fault. They were always cramping her style. When they found out that
she was a mutant, they made life unbearable for her. Always fiercly
independent, she took off, to make it on her own. It couldn't have made her
Aunt and Uncle happier. They now had an all access pass to the Lee
fortune. Freedom was always more valuable an asset to her. She ran away and
lived on the streets, and slept in Hollywood shopping malls, swiping
whatever she needed from the mall's stores. Living far away from her
sheltered neighborhood, she met all types. As if by instinct, she developed
the talent to read people. She met all types, and could judge a person
accurately by the first impression or vibe they gave off. And these
instincts told her that something was going on that didn't add up. She was
troubled by her suspicions. Not because her suspicions were dastardly
horrible to her, it was more to do with knowing everything that was going
around her, made her more comfortable. Like most girls, she couldn't stand
it if something was going down and she didn't know all about it.

There was just something about Rick. From the first time she met him,
Jubilee liked him. He had this natural quality of...innocence about
him. And that touched her. He didn't talk the dirty jokes that the other
boys did, he didn't curse, well not until recently. And she didn't care
what the gossip around the school said, that he attacked Ms. Grey,
Mr. Mcoy, Bobby and Mr. Summers. But recent events had gotten her to
thinking. More so was Bobby's outlandish behavior. Jubilee had known Bobby
for a long time, no questions there. And she had never known him to act in
the way he had been acting. Ever...to....anyone. Surely there was more to
it than Amara's come ons.

She got out of bed late that morning. She had tried to soften up Ray,
wasn't the first time she had used sex to calm him down. She'd never seen
him so mad before though. A lot of his moods these days seemed to revolve
around around Rick. She couldn't understand why Ray didn't seem to like
him. Sure, there had been one or two mishaps that Rick had been in. The
Danger Room incident-accident she corrected herself-that Bobby had gotten
injured in. Ray had never seemed to fully forgive Rick for that.What was
stranger to Jubilee was Bobby's reaction to it himself. She knew she was no
expert on the human psyche, but she had expected at least some negative
reaction from Bobby, he'd almost died. Bobby hadn't spoken one word of
reproach about it to Rick's face or even told them anything bad. Jubilee
didn't think that two, almost strangers, could be that close. At the time,
she thought it was a brotherly affection. She wasn't so sure now....

By contrast, Ray had a lot to say about it. Whenever Rick wasn't around,
the topic always seemed to revolve around that accident. Things became
worse when she told Ray about the time that Rick, posessed by Juggernaut's
fury, attacked her and injured her spine, almost killing her. That sent him
into a rage. She reminded him that the keyword was almost, besides Jacob
had healed her of it. Ray became friendlier with Jacob after he heard
that. Looking back on it now, she wished she'd kept her mouth shut. Like
Bobby did. She was again surprised that Bobby hadn't mentioned a word of
that to Ray, they never kept stuff from each other. Ray's constant
badmouthing of Rick was getting to her. He was mad with Rick, for calling
off whatever Amara thought was going on between them, too. He was mad with
Rick, for suggesting a better idea than his in the Danger Room battle with
the sentinels. He was mad at Rick for both her's and Bobby's
accidents. Bobby and Ray quarrelled a couple of times. It NEVER happened
before. Ray would bring up his accident and flames would fly. Hopefully
things would calm down now. She did her best to placate Ray, and that was
all she could do.

She needed to talk with Bobby. Get to the bottom of his sudden
metamorphosis. Bobby was becoming more and more badass by the day. The
things he said about Amara for example. Although, certainly she had to
admit some of them were true, it was the way he said it. With such
disgust...And she found herself thinking that Bobby was taking an awful lot
of interest in Rick. Granted, he took a lot of interest in all of his
friends, but something different seemed to be going on there. And Bobby
always jumped to Rick's defence. Yes, it was a given that he was fiercly
protective of his buddies. But he'd never been so defensive about any of
them before, not even Jamie, and he was the youngest. A couple of times,
when questions were directed at Rick, Bobby would answer them, as if he
were speaking for Rick, what was more, Rick didn't seem to mind and was
perfectly content to let the current state of affairs go on. When they went
out on the ill-fated excursion that Friday night, on Ray's clubbing plans,
an incident occuured, an incident that opened her eyes. She was surprised
that Amara didn't see it. Then again, Amara was too busy oogling
Rick. These teenage girls were simpering at Rick, calling out to him, Rick
waved over to them. Jubilee expected him to go over and at least say hello,
but he didn't. She now knew that he was really just a shy person. Ray
however would have none of it, he was all for going there and getting Rick
some action. Jubilee sighed, that was back when they got along. Sure, they
had fallen out over how Rick had spoken to Jamie that afternoon, Jubilee
still didn't get why he spoke so harshly, but if Rick and Jamie could
reslove it, she could too.. Anyhow, Ray wanted to call them over, but Rick
said he didn't want to. Ray persisted, before Rick could even respond,
Bobby just about shouted for him to call his idea off, that Rick didn't
want it. There had been genuine anger in his voice tone. That threw
her. That was her first clue that something might, just maybe, could be
going on. She'd need more corroborating evidence to substantiate her
suspicions. Bobby's complete forgiveness-not even forgiveness-he never even
fell out with Rick over his accident-had provided it.

Then, there were the stares she would see Bobby throwing Rick. She couldn't
deny THEM. Rick seemed unaware of them. She was prepared to think that they
were just ordinary glances, but in light of recent events, she could see
they weren't. Once she thought Bobby was staring at Lucy Parker, who was
sitting immediately behind Rick. She thought that maybe that was the reason
why he had been so hard on Amara and her lame-ass flirts, but it wasn't
Lucy he was tossing those looks of longing. It was Rick. Lucy had long
since gone from the cafeteria, and yet Bobby kept at it. Why didn't she see
this before? Was Bobby....She so needed to go talk to him. What if he was
going through something all alone and didn't have anyone to turn to?
Another fact came to her attention. Whenever they were all together, with
the exception of Rick, Bobby could never seem to stay put. He'd always
excuse himself, going off to look for Rick and see where he was, to get him
out with them. It came to her as no surprise that Bobby had went along with
Rick's plan in the Danger Room, it came to her as no surprise that he had
tried to calm Ray down. He'd done it before. When Ray got all up in Rick's
face about yelling at Jamie and stomped off. It happened the day before
too. When Rick left the Danger Room, saying he was quitting the team, Bobby
had it out with Ray, again....worse than before. Jubilee wondered if she
was blind all along. She'd go have a talk with Bobby, that very day, it
couldn't be put off any longer. And it couldn't be healthy, all these mood
swings he'd been having.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bobby entered his room, quickly tossing off his clothes and rushing into
the adjoining shower. He wanted to get this over with as fast as
possible. They were going to spend the rest of their free time in the
Rec-Room, and Rick would be there. No way he'd miss that. He couldn't help
but be happy. he had good reason to be. Firstly, it seemed that Ray had
finally gotten around to accepting Rick. He'd really quarrelled with Ray
yesterday and it looked as if Jubilee's persuasion ha worked wonders. He'd
have to thank her, mybe stop acting the way he'd been acting too. That had
really gotten her angry. And Rick had finally seemed to see that Jacob was
bad news. Before yesterday's fight, Rick and Jacob had seemed almost
inseparable. He'd hardly been able to see Rick in public without Jacob a
few steps behind. Now, Rick seemed to be keeping his distance. in the
Rec-Room, he'd barely even said two words to him. Thank God for small
blessings. Ray and Jacob seemed to have bonded though, no doubt because
Jacob had healed Jubilee of her spinal injuries. Maybe in time Ray would
see him for the fool that he relly was.

He was really worried yesterday when Rick said that he'd be leaving the
team. It made him so mad, it scared him. Ray was wrong and he knew
it. Bobby wanted to just strangle him. And that frightened him to no
end. He couldn't believe he'd even thought that about his best
friend. Yeah...he had it bad, real bad. But it changed this morning. Ray
had apologised, in his own way. Ororo's Elemental class had done it, got to
love her. Rick seemed to be his old self again, and that was
gratifying. The night before, he was afraid of the boy he might meet when
he went to Rick's room. It wasn't that he afraid of Rick or his alter
ego. But he just couldn't stand to see him upset, and the way he left the
Danger Room, was a whole lot worse than upset. Rick, seemed to have
composed himself a bit when Bobby went up to his room. They'd talked about
Ray and his attitude and Bobby had tried his best to satisfy Rick that
things weren't as bad as they seemed. When he heard that Rick wasn't going
to leave after all, he could have jumped to the roof. He did have to admit
that bitchy Amara might still have a slight grudge, but Rick got over it.

He didn't like it how Rick still thought about the accident in the Danger
Room, the one where he'd almost been killed because of his alter ego. He
honestly hardly ever thought about it, so he didn't see why Rick should
beat himself up over it. Ray and his badmouthing Rick alla the time. Rick
seemed to be on the verge of breaking down when he mentioned the times he'd
lost control and damaged both him and Jubilee. No doubt the latter was a
major source of Ray's anger. So when Bobby got Rick to laugh, it felt like
a reward had been tossed his way. He tried to get him to come downstairs
that day, to the Rec-Room. It was evening yet and they could chill. Rick
didn't want to, said he was sleepy and Bobby made him promise that he'd
come the next morning. Which was why when Rick didn't show up the next
morning bright and early, he wondered if Rick was backing out on him. He
went to his room, knocked repeatedly and got no answer. He wasn't sure if
Rick was ignoring him, so with a saddened heart, he lumbered back to the
Rec-Room. When he saw Rick at the entrance, he burst into a run. He had to
basically push him inside, he couldn't believe Rick was this
nervous. Eventually Rick saw that amongst everyone else, nothing had
changed. Bobby remembered the look of pure gratitude and the mental
communication Rick had sent him.

{Thanks Bobby, for everything.}

It felt as if his entire life, well all seventeen years of it anyway, was
lived for that moment. It made him feel even better than when he found out
that Rick's plan in the Danger Room as centered around him. It left him in
a serious haze. Bobby knew that he couldn't go on like this for
long. Eventually, he'd have to do something about it. Rick was the first
person he thought about waking up, the last person he thought about going
to sleep-(The fact that he jacked off on images of Rick immediately before
bedtime contributed to that)-and he dreamt him all the time. If he didn't
do something soon, he might go crazy. But he'd need to build up his
confidence, courage first. it terrified him about the consequences if Rick
spurned him. But he knew that eventually it had to be done. He just hoped
that it wouldn't end up with Rick hating him. He already knew how Ray felt
about people like him. He finished his shower, tossed on some clothes and
rushed back downstairs. Maybe if he were lucky he could spend some time
with Rick more or less to himself.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He was thirty-one and alone. Utterly alone. He'd been that way for fifteen,
excruciatingly long, hellish years. Scot Summers, the Field Commander of
the Xmen. He was always accused of being too severe, too strict,
disciplinarian, even off the field. But he couldn't help it. His role as
leader kept his mind occupied, it made him forget, at least half of the
time...These past few weeks had been exceptionally hard on him. He had to
work in close proximity to Rick, training the junior team. A couple of
times, he'd almost gotten careless, lax and nearly called him Josh. He knew
he could never have a relationship with someone like Rick. But it brought
pack painful, stabbing memories of Joshua. He'd been looking at the old
photo album nightly now, it always ended with him throwing it across the
room. But that wasn't the only thing he had to worry about now. Now Jean
Grey was on his case, again. He still blamed her, part of him. It was her
fault, he told himself. She pried into his mind, saw his secret, made him
talk to his FRIEND, and it ended up with him as the loser. He resented her
with a vengeance for it. He was the one suffering, alone. Joshua went off
with Julie and Jean went off with Logan. Logan, who was goodness knows how
much too old for her. When she and Logan split apart, Scot was glad, he
wanted to see her hurt, let her know what it felt like. But last night, she
decided to act up, in true bitchin' Jean Grey style.

When Rick had stormed out of the Danger Room, saying he was going to quit
the team. The selfish part of Scot's personality was agreeable. It meant
that he wouldn't be forced to be near to a constant reminder of what could
never have been. Even his anger was true to Joshua's style. But eventually,
he knew he'd have to see past his selfish reasons and do what was best for
Rick. After his "Talk" with Ray-It left him feeling like he was becoming
like Ororo-he went to look for Rick. He knocked on Rick's door,
constantly. He got no response. He was smart enough to know that attempted
forced entry was not a good idea this time around and so he just gave it up
for the day. He'd do it the next day. He was hungry and went down to the
kitchen. Jean was there, and surprisingly, so was Rick. He never knew they
were anything more than aquaintances. Sure she was fond of him as a baby,
but fifteen years away changes people. Granted, some people were more
resilient against change. Anyhow, he decided to talk to Rick while he was
at it. Rick was sulking. It took some doing, but Scot got him to agree to
try again and not quit the team. When he accomplished that, he felt
strangely happy...happy? He thought he wanted Rick to leave the team. But
he had to confess, part of him, the side that won the argument inside his
head, wanted Rick to stay. Anyhow, Rick agreed to, that was the most
important thing. When he mentioned Joshua's and his hatred, Scot was
speechless for quite a while. Rick attributed it to differences of opinion
in leadership matters. If he only knew... Scot assured him that his
relationship with Ray was NOTHING like that. When Rick left, Jean decided
to start up her bullshit.

Jean: "You handled that pretty well."

Scot:"Yeah, I guess I did."

Jean: "I couldn't even get him to reconsider it. He seemed adamant on
leaving the team."

Scot:"I'm glad he's not, he has great potential."

Jean: "Yeah, he does. Sigh...you'd have made a great father Scot."

"Why'd you say that?"

Jean: "The way you handled it. I think he looks up to you like a
father. His own dad being so far from here and all. You're like his father
figure."

Scot:"I wouldn't say so."

Jean: "Why? YOU, don't think that's the way he looks at you?"

The way she said it. It drove him up a wall.

Scot:"What are you trying to imply?"

Jean:"Scot...he's not his father, you can't-"

Scot: "What the fuck do you take me for?! A child molester?"

Jean: "I'm just saying-"

Scot: "Shit! That's what you're saying. I can't beleive you'd even think
it, God!"

Jean: "Yes I'm thinking it! Because you're thinking it! We have a link
Scot, a weak one now, but it's there and can never be broken-"

Scot: "You've been spying on my mind?!"

Jean: "What do you think I am?"

Scot: "What do you think I am? THIS coming from a woman who broke Xavier's
most sacred tenet, Mind Invasion. I wonder what you're precious students
would think if they knew..."

Jean: "Stop it! I didn't spy, I sensed it. It's all that's on your mind
these days."

Scot: "You...it's your fault Jean, you ruined my life! I was the one who
paid the price. And you got free license to go after Logan, but it didn't
go as planned did it? he couldn't stop seeing you like a daughter. And I
forgave you for it...and after fifteen years you came to attack me with
this.."

Jean: "I'm not attacking you, I just want to make sure that he doesn't get
hurt."

Scot: "What do you think I'd do Jean? Whisk him away. Brainwash him into
thinking he's gay, and use him to fulfil my darkest fantasies about
Joshua."

Scot hadn't realized how it sounded at first.

Jean: "You were the one who said it Scot, not me."

Scot: "Stay the fuck away from me and my thoughts, you got that?!"

Jean: "Are you afraid of what I might find, the skeletons in your big, dark
closet?"

Scot: "Shut up!"

Jean: "It looks like I struck a nerve. Make sure you don't do anything to
make that kid hate you Scot, you've seen what can happen. Don't think that
if you can't have the father, you can have the son."

He didn't know what happened then. All his suppressed rage came to the
surface. He hit her. It stung them both. Neither of them expected it. She
felt her face tentatively with her hand and looked him in the eye
defiantly. For a minute, he thought she was going to attack him. The rage
on her face led him to believe so. She struggled with her emotions and
restrained herself however, and spoke to him in a voice strained with
suppressed anger.

Jean: "If you ever do that again, I swear to God Scot, I will forget
everything that the Professor has taught us."

He left then. He couldn't stand to be with her in that room any
longer. What made him madder was the fact that every word she'd said was
true. He wanted Rick to look at him that way, deep down he wanted it. And
Jean Grey knew it. He hated her for it. He hated the Link, she was right,
it could never be broken, not entirely. He just went straight to his room
after that.

Just Great, he thought. Another load added to his burden. How much longer
he'd be able to bear it, was a mystery even to himself.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Okay that's chapter eight. Be sure to let me know what you think and how
you feel about where I am taking this.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++