X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ Did I Forget to Tell You? ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Did I Forget To Tell You?
A Gen X Fic

Can I make a confession?
I always liked you.
I didn't really know it.
I didn't really understand it.
But I liked you.
Alot.


"Yo, Penny. Apple?" Jubilee smiled, eyes shining, at the mute mutant girl who stood by the tree. Penance didn't hesitate, she took the apple. No gratitude flickered across her face, but Jubilee's smile grew brighter. She didn't need gratitude. That the quiet girl took the gift was enough. And Penance was grateful.


You had this mask you wore.
Tough; unburdened; unyielding.
But it was just a mask.
An act.
And you let me see through it.
You trusted me.


Her eyes slid open, though she was still weary. The first thing she saw was a tear-streaked face. Jubilee. She'd fallen asleep on the other bunk. How long had she been there? She sliced out of her bonds, and years of training snapped Jubilee awake. She looked at the other bunk, eyes shot wide with concern. When she saw Penance awake, her face lit up with relief. "Penny!" She lept up. "You're okay!" She took a step forward, then paused. And she knew she would hug her if she could. She wanted her to hug her, but she'd slice her to half of her life if she tried. Her damn razor skin...how she wanted that hug...


We talked, but never spoke.
We said things, but said nothing.
We argued. We fought.
We cared.
You were my best friend.
Did I forget to tell you?



"Look, Monet - your sisters did this for you because they love you. You just gotta accept that." Jubilee told her.

"Right, now that we know who she is and how Penance came into being, we can begin to search for ways to help!" Paige added.

"I'm afraid the only way to put things right is to force Emplate to reverse the spell." She told them, and turned away. Not wanting to share any more of what she'd been feeling.

"It's hard to imagine what it must be like for two minds to merge into one consciousness..." Paige had stated, drawing their attention back to Penance.

Jubilee had turned, too. And the concern and sympathy in her eyes hurt. She'd been on the receiving end of that look many times before, but not now. Now when she needed it the most. When she needed that hug Jubilee had wanted to give her and never had. She needed that hug badly...



Can I make a confession?
I always liked you.
I hid it from you.
I hid it from me.
But I liked you.
Alot.



"I can't believe Emma, Sean - oh, yeah, and Adrienne - were so hard up for new students that they opened the doors for the January semester." Jubilee turned away in a huff.

"Actually, it's not all that surprising, given the school's questionable financial situation...and Adriennne's desire to return this school to it's once prestigious standing. They are the Headmasters you know." Of course, the comment had been made sitting indian style while floating half-way to the ceiling. It had been an under-handed acknowledgement that the other girl's opinion was correct - having to keep their powers underwraps was not a fun prospect.

"Monet, you'd probably disagree if I said the sky was blue."

"It's more gray out today than anything."

"Why do I bother?" Jubilee rolled her eyes.

M allowed herself a smile. It was times like this, when they bantered words, she felt most like friends. Though neither of them admitted it aloud.



We talked, but never spoke.
We said things, but said nothing.
We argued. We fought.
We cared.
You were my idol.
Did I forget to tell you?



"I can't believe you're not coming." Jubilee entered her room.

"Jubilation, you could try knocking once and awhile." She'd told her coldly.

"Care to tell me what's so important you can't come?"

"I'm not interested in going to Madripoor, satisfied?"

"Hardly. You're one of the team, M. We're supposed to go - or stay - as a group."

"Please. We aren't children, Jubilation. Don't hand me such fairytale nonsense. Groups split and seperate. The work apart, and get back together. I don't have to go on this little joyride. Besides, this jaunt is about sucking up to Adrienne, isn't it? Do I look like someone who sucks up?"

"Do I?"

M paused, turning. No, Jubilee wasn't the kind. You got her help, or her wrath, based on her opinion of you. Sucking-up wasn't in her dictionary, or - at the very least - it was scratched out. "You are going because you have the hots for Adrienne's old friend."

Jubilee's lips twitched. "That's a perk of the trip, not the reason for it."

M frowned. "So, what reason are you going for?"

"To help someone. Human. Mutant. Friend. Stranger. It doesn't matter to me. It's to help someone. It's what X-men do."

"Spare me another 'When I was an X-men' moment and go."

"Fine. But I do have one last think to tell you, Miss St Croix. If you're going to make fun of me - do it right. It's 'When I was with the X-Men', not 'When I was an X-Men'. I may be here with the Junior League, but I'm here by choice - not because I was told to go. I am an X-Men, and I always will be. And you have alot to learn."

She whirled, but Jubilee was gone. She almost went after her. To tell her she was staying to spend time with her sisters. That she wasn't backing down or coping out - she was keeping a promise. She almost went after her to tell her. Almost...


We talked, but never spoke.
We said things, but said nothing.
We argued. We fought.
We cared.
You were my hero.
Did I forget to tell you?



"What I don't get is how Miss Frost, with all her telepathic abilities, doesn't realize something's very wrong here." Paige stated.

"Well, if tonight's the night the Hellions - WE - are supposed to die, I vote we just don't go. Don't get any simpler than that." Angelo opinioned.

"Angelo Espinosa, I'm Appalled. We're X-men - well, sort-of - and X-Men don't back down from a fight. X-Men don't think that if they don't show up the fight won' Happen." Jubilee put in, disgusted.

"Lissen, I got News for you, Chica, we ain't the X-Men. I don't recall suicide mission bein' on the class curriculum here." Angelo told her.

~I know it may seem "cowardly" but Angelo might be right.~ Jono spoke up.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. When I was with the X-Men, Professor Xavier taught us the only thing worse than failing is not even trying. Sure, the Hellions died today. But We have an advantage. We know we're supposed to die. Something else the Prof said - Forewarned is Forearmed. We can use our knowledge to change how things play out. Anyone got a problem with that, let's hear it."

Nobody said anything. Nobody could. Jubilee's past with the X-Men had been brought up so often, it was more of a running joke than something they really payed attention to. But it was suddenly glaring them in the face that she did have alot more experience than them. In a situation that had the rest of them having second thoughts, she seemed unaffected. It was at that moment they all began to realize how much more of an idea Jubilee had than them of what they were fighting for. Of what was worth fighting for.



Can I make a confession?
I always liked you.
I knew it.
Didn't you?
I liked you.
Alot.



"Agh!" She woke up with a scream. "What?" 'I'm...back in the Danger Room. In OUR Danger Room at the Massachusetts Academy. This has to be some sort of weird dream.'

"You guys? You awake? Can anyone hear me?? Jubilee, come on. Wake Up. Something weird is going on around here. Wake Up!!" A gasp escaped her lips when she suddenly saw her arm. 'My arm is bleeding. Where Archangel's wing-blade sliced me. That means whatever happens in there, Really Happens. The other kids could actually die in there.'

Frightened, she reached out instinctively to pick up Jubilee. "Jubilee if you don't wake-up, you're going to DIE!"



I had this mask I wore.
Tough; unburdened; unyielding.
You had one too.
You let me see through it.
You trusted me.
Again.


"Where will you go?"

Monet turned from her bag. Jubilee stood in the doorway. "Home, where else? You?"

"I don't have a home like the rest of you...Angelo has offered for me to go to LA with him. Have a regular life for awhile." Jubilee told her.

"Why not forever?"

"Because I'm not a trainee. I'm an X-men. I've played with the big boys and all those super-villains I've helped defeat don't believe in retiring. In three months, or three years maybe if I'm lucky, someone's gonna come bug us cuz of me. I'll have to call in the X-Men to deal with it. And I'll go back to them that day. Once an X-Men, always an X-Men. There's no leaving the X-Life in the end...and I don't want to. Not forever. I still believe in the dream. And that's what being an X-Men is all about. Paige had this idea in her head that it was about fighting Magnetos and Sinisters. Rescuing cats from trees and getting your face in the newspaper. She never got it. It's about The Dream."

"Helping someone. Human. Mutant. Friend. Stranger. Help them all, and it proves they're all the same." Monet whispered. That was when she felt her hand on her shoulder. She turned, and Jubilee hugged her. The hug she'd wanted for so long. The only one they'd ever share...?

"I don't know if we'll ever see eachother again....Goodbye, Monet. And Good Luck."


We talked. We spoke.
We said things,
But not what we wanted.
I loved you.
Did I forget to tell you?


Salmon 2004

Ho! A story. ^-^ Gen X fanfic. Kind of wandering thought poetry thingy from Monet's POV. Not my usual type of story, but then free-style poetry isn't my usual type either. So I wrote the poem/song in this fic, please don't use it without my permission.

Hmm...Oh! And this is NOT Femslash, folks. This is about friendship, 'kay?

Set at various times throughout the series. I hated the last year of the series, and I don't even own the final issue. Haven't even read it, just a synopsis of it - so if the final scene's off - oh well.