"Well," Monet said calmly. "This was unexpected."

Emma raised a single eyebrow. She didn't say anything. She didn't have to. She had that 'I'm giving you one chance to explain this so you'd better talk very, very fast' expression down to an artform. She didn't even tap her foot. The eyebrow was enough all on its own.

Jono wrapped his free arm around Jubilee's waist and met her eyes squarely. <*Sleepy Hollow was good,*> he said conversationally. <*We were going t' get some food, but you guys enjoy yer movie.*> Explain? Who needed to explain? They were out together, it was a date, what did everyone want? A picture? A statistical breakdown of events so far?

Sean looked them both up and down. He shrugged. "Have fun, be back by curfew, no hands where they shouldn't be." He turned back to the two littluns. "Artie, Leech, have ye decided what ye want yet?"

Jubilee blinked a bit. "Uh.... sure."

Emma looked at Sean, the eyebrow rising again. He looked back, the picture of innocence. "What? They're two kids of decent social integration indulging in a time-honoured companionship-oriented activity. As long as they're back by curfew, their date is their business."

Jono sent the headmaster a quick telepathic burst of pure gratitude. <*That's right. Anyone else got anything to say?*>

Paige finally managed to ungrit her teeth. "Uh..... Jubilee, can Ah talk to you for a minute? In private?"

<*No.*>

"Yes."

<*But...*> Jono looked down at her in surprise.

Jubilee stood on tiptoe and pullled him down to kiss his cheek. "We'll just be a minute." She winked at him. "Miss me."

<*Every minute*> he agreed in an exaggeratedly mournful tone. <*I'll just stand here and suffer the whole time.*>

Jubilee beamed at him, and was yanked away by the wrist to a convenient nook half hidded behind a potted plant. "Okay, okay, *what*?"

"What? What?! You're on a *date* with *Jono* and you're asking me *WHAT*?!?!" Paige shrieked in a shrill whisper.

Jubilee blinked innocently. "Uh... yeah. What?"

Paige huffed. "How could ya DO this?"

Jubilee peeked around the (fake) potted plant to see Jono apparently deep in discussion with Artie and Leech over which kind of icecream was best. "Well, why not? You *said* you were done with him. You said it over and over again, loudly, with adjectives. And then you went on a Brawn-Face-Sucking spree, so I figured hey, Jono's available now...."

Paige bit her lip. "Well... just because Ah dumped him doesn't mean he's available to my *Friends*. You're supposed to never go out with him EITHER. What about solidarity?"

"Paige, you're sucking face with the only heir of the guy who had my parents *murdered*," Jubilee said tartly. "You're so *not* the person to talk about solidarity."

"That's not Tristan's fault!" Paige defended. "Ah'm just... worried about ya. After how Jono treated *me*, I-"

"Paige. Shush." Jubilee folded her arms. "I like Jono. I am not wildly in love with him. I am not besotted. I don't think he's my one true *or* my soulmate. I just like him. And he likes me. And we're on a date. This isn't a marriage proposal Paige, it's *just* a *date*."

"But-" Paige's eyes narrowed. "Is that my sweater?"

"Yes," Jubilee said with an unrepented grin. "And if you give back my green barettes, my blue eyeshadow, and that top with the stripes, I might even put it back where I found it."

Paige humphed a bit. "Ah just borrowed those."

"And I just borrowed the sweater," Jubilee said calmly. "Now, if you're all done, I have a date to get back to that I'm really enjoying."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you about this," Paige muttered.

"I won't," Jubilee assured her blithely, and skipped back to her date, sliding her arms around his waist from behind. "Hey, handsome."

<*'Ey,*> he said softly, turning to wrap his arms around her. <*Ready to go?*>

"Yup," she said cheerfully, bestowing a casual wave on the rest of the team. "Bye, guys."

"Have fun!" Sean said benignly, watching the closely entwined pair wander towards the nearest set of golden arches.

There was a moment's silence.

"Mr Cassidy?" Leech piped up.

"Yes, lad?" Sean braced himself for a slew of questions about Jonothon and Jubilee's apparent new relationship.

Leech poked Everett, who had neither moved or spoken since the pair had walked into view. His eyes had a sort of glassy look, now that Sean looked closer. "Leech and Artie think that Ev'ett is dead."

* * *

"Deep breaths. Iiiiiin...ouuut... you can do it, Ev, iiin and ouuut..."

"I don't want to take deep breaths!" Everett snapped. "They're..." he looked at his watch, "nearly half an hour late! Curfew's at ten!"

Angelo rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they have a good reason for being late, Ev. Maybe the Jeep got a flat tire."

"Hah!" Ev continued to pace. "They don't have a flat tire! They're just parked by the side of the road someplace! With... with wandering hands! And touching! Bad touching!"

Angelo rolled his eyes. "Ev, for crying out loud, it's just a date. A *first* date. I'm sure Jubilee's not the type to allow bad touching on a first date, even if Jono was the kind of guy who'd try it."

"Hah!"

"Will you stop saying that?" Angelo contemplated gagging his friend. With something really disgusting, like a dirty sweatsock or Wolverine's used underwear. "Why's this bothering you so much? It's not like *you* ever noticed she was a girl or anything."

"Well... no... but that doesn't mean he can! He's too old for her! And he wears leather and angsts all the time and...and..." Ev closed his eyes. "Oh god, I sound like I'm her father or something."

"That you do," Angelo agreed cheerfully. "Wonder what you'd have said if *I'd* asked her out?"

Ev gave him a rather shocked look. "You wouldn't."

"Why not? She's cute, we get along okay, she's got a nice-"

"Aaaaaange!"

"-butt," Angelo finished, unperturbed. "What, you never looked at her butt?"

"No! I mean, I've seen it, but I haven't *looked* looked! It wouldn't be... wouldn't be..." he trailed off lamely. "You know..."

"No, I don't. I'VE never had a problem with looking at it." Ange judged that the time was right for a Distusting Guy Lust-Noise, and produced one. "Man, there're times I've been looking at it so hard in the Danger Room that I nearly got my head knocked off." Okay, he was exaggerating a bit, but Ev had to start thinking of Jubilee as A Girl *sometime*. And her butt *was* decidedly cute.

Everett wrinkled his nose. "You're disgusting."

"AND proud of it!"

Ev rolled his eyes and went back to pacing. "You're just trying to distract me."

"It almost worked, too." Angelo shrugged, and went back to his magazine. "Look, they'll be back. Don't worry so much."

"They'd better be." Everett brightened slightly. "Maybe they've gotten into a fight or something. With Sentinels. Or something. Yeah, that's why they're late..." He headed for the kitchen. "Want some more coffee?"

"No, and I don't think you should have any more, either," Angelo sighed. "Look, they weren't in a fight, okay? We'd have heard something on the news about UFOs by now. They've just MADRE DE DIOS WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU TWO?!?"

Jono and Jubilee were standing in the doorway. Both were soaked through. Jono was covered to the waist in mud and slush, Jubilee was a mud-person from the eyebrows down, and both were spattered with black grease and oil. "We had a blowout," she said cheerfully. "Jeep went off the road into a ditch, and we had to push it out before we could change the tire."

Angelo snickered at the expression of mingled shock and horror on Everett's face. "Told you it was a tire. Didn't I tell you it was a tire?" Then he hauled himself up off the couch and engaged Practical Mode. "Okay Ev, go get Mr Cassidy, and you two go get into dry clothes. You're gonna freeze standing around like that. When you're dry, come back down and I'll have some hot tea for Jubilee. Yeah, yeah, I know your powers protect you both from the cold, but go anyway. For me."

<*'kay,*> Jono agreed meekly. The pair headed back out into the actually quite-balmy-for-early-spring night, hands still entwined. <*What an end to the evening, huh?*>

Jubilee chuckled, squeezing his hand. "Yup. In the best romantic tradition."

He laughed silently. <*Yeh, the Compulsory 'Orrible Disaster at the end of the date. 'Ow could I forget that? All we need now is some guy with a pipe-*>

"Sean."

<*Right, Sean, to come out and yell at me f'r keeping you out past curfew. Then I'll KNOW we're meant to last for, oh, at least the rest of the season.*>

Jubilee laughed out loud, the gurgling sound rippling musically through the quiet night. "Of course, next season some really gorgeous guy with rippling muscles and a shady past is gonna turn up and try to seduce me away from you, but I'll resist his blandishments until I see *you* with some trashy redhead and leap to the wrong conclusion."

Jono stopped and pulled her into his arms, mud and all. <*And then I'll enlist Ange t' help me in a mad, convoluted scheme to get yer back again,*> he said softly. <*Only it won't work, and I'll end up making a huge fool of myself in front of the whole school.*>

She slid wet, muddy arms around his neck, smiling up at him. "But I'll be so touched that you'd do that for me that I'll throw myself into your arms and swear never to break up with you again," she finished quietly. She laid her head against his 'chest' with a soft, contented sigh. "I had fun tonight."

<*Me too.*> He stroked her wet, mudddy hair. <*We should do it again. Tomorrow good for you?*>

"It is now." She stood on tiptoe to press soft, cold lips against his cheek. "See you in the kitchen in a few minutes?"

<*Absolutely. Wouldn't miss the shoutin' scene for the world. It's securin' my future, so it is.*> He cupped her face gently with his wet, cold, muddy hands, and rested his forehead against hers for a moment. <*Go get warm.*>

"I'm warm," she whispered, eyes closed.

<*Then go get dry,*> he countered, not letting go of her.

"Okay..." But it was a long moment more before she reluctantly slid out of his arms. "Seeya in a few."

<*Yeah.*> He watched her go, chamber abuzz with joyfully fuzzy feelings. It might not be love, but there was a lot to be said for a good reciprocal crush. Yeah, this was nice.

The goofy smile hovered around him again, thwarted once more.

The End