"... never mind."

Time to smirk. Then grin. Right. Friendly and kind. And because of their powers, Lily liked being around him… Patiently, the molecule manipulator waited for the waitress to depart before talking.

“Well, m’dear, last time I checked, just friends don’t kiss.” Alexandra winked at Lily. “So with your powers… can you manipulate him?” Laughter left her lips. Alexandra mentally chuckled at her comment. “You know, something just came into my mind.” Again, the molecule manipulator leaned closer. “Did you see Twilight? Cause that ‘You’re like my own personal brand of heroin.’ line is totally playing inside my mind right now.” Grin… Then sip again while blue eyes locked on the girl’s figure.

“Well, m’dear, last time I checked, just friends don’t kiss.”
Alex had a point there. Lily automatically opened her mouth to argue, but she really couldn't; she wanted to say 'but I kiss my friends all the time', but she could answer herself, 'nah, not like that'. So because her mouth was already open, she found the straw again.
Much better.
“... Did you see Twilight? Cause that ‘You’re like my own personal brand of heroin.’ line is totally playing inside my mind right now.”
Blink.
Wha'...?
"Nooo. No. It's not like that. I mean, yes, I suppose I could... how did you say... manipulate him, but that's just... not right." she shook her head violently, her cheeks flushed again "I mean, I did pull silver from him, when we were in a fight, but that was... a situation." she bit her lip "I wouldn't... do anything to him. Without his permission."
The disturbing thing was, images of their kiss kept flashing through her mind. Yeah, and by the way, I kissed him through the silver, and it blew my mind, thank you very much.
Sip.
"... it's difficult. When he is around, I can... constanly sense him, you know? He's always there somewhere. And when he is close it's... makes it hard to focus. Dealing with silver is in my genes. It's tempting." she sighed "It's nice. I just... don't want him to think that's what matters about him."
Wrinkling her nose, she storred her drink with the straw.
"Is it supposed to feel like that?..."

The reaction she just received pleased the molecule manipulator. A smile that held a hint of satisfaction in it was placed on her lips. “Totally your own personal brand of heroin.” Alexandra replied with a grin. Sip.

“And , meh, I wish I could tell you more about the stuff with guys and such but…” Alexandra gulped down the rest of her drink, placing the empty glass back on the table with a loud thud. “But I don’t know what to say. Teh boyz are still a mystery for me. Feelings as well.” The molecule manipulator placed her elbows on the table, locking her hands together in front of her. Placing her chin on top of her hands, Alexandra continued to stare at Lily. “Sam is my first boyfriend…” she confessed with a sigh. And that made Lily probably the first person in the US knowing this. “Seriously now, I usually read people pretty easy… but I can’t say I understand what the hell happened tonight.” Alexandra sighed again, eyeing the waitress for a moment before shifting her eyes back to Lily.

“But one thing I can tell you… from personal experience, you know…” The molecule manipulator raised her chin from her hands, biting her lips slightly. “You and Streak. Don’t try to hide behind the finger. If you two actually have something going on, share. Don’t wait for others to tell you... cause… err, it usually ends in some pretty embarrassing experiences.”

Sam's birthday was replayed inside her mind... how she and Sam found out about their feelings. Which reminded her. Man, she missed her Sensei Luke. She bet he could have enlightened her in this situation.

“Totally your own personal brand of heroin.”
"We gotta watch that movie when we get home." she mumbled with a half smile. The second paradise was lost, and with it half of the hurricane too. When did that happen?...
Alex admitted not being an expert on the matter. She also admitted she had no idea what happened with Sam and Kaz. Now they were getting somewhere. Probably into the deep gloomy realm of girl talk.
Is it possible for two X-men to have girl talk in the middle of a mission? Apparently so. Never a better opportunity.
“You and Streak. Don’t try to hide behind the finger. If you two actually have something going on, share. Don’t wait for others to tell you..."
She nodded at the advice and wished it was just that simple.
"Thanks, I guess..." she smirked "You know, I was brought up in the spirit of waiting till the gentleman makes a move, and it is hard to grow out of that." she mused, resting her chin in her palm "Also, I can't tell if he likes me or not. Isn't that annoying?"
She chuckled, sipped the cocktail like a mildly tipsy butterfly would, through the straw, and looked up at Alex.
"So, in the spirit of others' problems always being easier to solve... I don't know what happened tonight either, but I am pretty sure it has to do something with Sam claiming you as his girl. Caveman instincts" she added with a wise nod, before bursting into laughter.

"We gotta watch that movie when we get home."

Alexandra nodded, chuckling slightly at the mental image she was getting. An Edward replaced by Lily, while the lovely Bella took the face of the silver eyed leader of the X-Men. Now… that was an image she couldn’t quite forget soon.

"Thanks, I guess... You know, I was brought up in the spirit of waiting till the gentleman makes a move, and it is hard to grow out of that. Also, I can't tell if he likes me or not. Isn't that annoying?"

An eyebrow was arched slightly at Lily in response. Awww. She didn’t know if Streak liked her or not. “Lily. That could be solved in like 10 minutes.” Cause she happened to know a Sam, who was a friend with a Shawn and who could find out if the Shawn was interested in the Lily… really quickly. Alexandra smiled. Well, as long as I don’t hurt Sam first. … Details, details. “I don’t know why, but I’m under the impression that Streak might wonder the same about you.” Grin, wink, grin.

"So, in the spirit of others' problems always being easier to solve... I don't know what happened tonight either, but I am pretty sure it has to do something with Sam claiming you as his girl. Caveman instincts"

Lily laughed, Alexandra did the same, only a moment after. Caveman. Now, why couldn’t she get out of her mind the image of Sam and Kaz dressed in leopard skin and with spiked bats in their hands, glaring at each other, while she, the goddess of molecules, innocently stood between them? “Lily. The mental image. It burns my eyes!

“Lily. That could be solved in like 10 minutes...I don’t know why, but I’m under the impression that Streak might wonder the same about you.”
Lily sighed and smiled the default smile of a bashful young lady. What Alex was offering actually sounded pretty tempting. Even though it also sounded like something out of a romantic comedy. But tonight was just that kind of night.
“Lily. The mental image. It burns my eyes!
It only made her laugh even harder, until tears were rolling down her cheeks.
"Yeah, mine too" she giggled "Alex, I think we found the new uniform design for the guys. Spring 2010. Fuzzy pants that make Tarzan cry and wanna join the team."
The details of the fashion plan were lost in another fit of giggles and tears.

"Yeah, mine too. Alex, I think we found the new uniform design for the guys. Spring 2010.”

The mental image changed as Alexandra burst into laugh once again, words lost among the laughter. Now, all the manly men of the mansion, the mighty X-Men were dressed in leopard skin. The image was to be forever imprinted into her mind and she wasn’t sure if she could ever look at the X-Men in the same way…ever.again.

“God…Lily.” Laugh interrupted her words once again. Her own eyes started to tear as she continued to laugh. “Can you … even… imagine them… like that?” A finger reached out to wipe a few tears that traveled down her cheek as she laughed. “I will never look at them in the same way after this.” Still laughing, Alexandra shook her head. A second later she was gesturing the waitress to bring another round of cocktails.

“Can you … even… imagine them… like that?”
Lily leaned back on her chair, rocking back and forth with laughter.
"Yeah... poor me, I can..." she grinned "And.... Alex... I think our design is... still a lot better... that a guy would... come up with for us..." she giggled, only stopping to take a breath, and some equally important alcoholic beverage.
The awkwardness was gone. So was the second Hurricane. Whatever important matters they had to discuss and analyze, they were pretty much forgotten; Lily would have never thought talking about boyfriend problems could be so much fun. All right, maybe it was the cocktail. Cocktails.
But still, after all they'd been through, they sure as hell deserved some laughter.
And the night was still young...

"And.... Alex... I think our design is... still a lot better... that a guy would... come up with for us..."

Oh. That thought had not crossed the mind of the molecule manipulator until now. But now, that Lily mentioned it, her answer was more laughter, tears rolling down her cheeks once again as she leaned back on the chair.

Side note: The Lost Paradise was actually worth of its title.

The waitress arrived at their table, on a silver tray two glasses resting. One it was the Lost Paradise. The other, a Hurricane. Both were set upon the table, each finding its respective owner.

Alexandra had no idea that this was far from being the last she’d have.

~ * ~

Time was lost among the amount of glasses that came and left their table. At some point, Alexandra had changed the Lost Paradise with various many other fancy names. Somewhere after starting to drink the third cocktail with a fancy name, all of her usual inhibitions were lost. Sam and his jealousy? Pushed into a part of her mind where she could laugh at while picturing the leader of the X-Men posing as Tarzan. The fact that her brain was practically swimming in alcohol was not important. As a matter of fact, Alexandra didn’t realize it anyway.

Alexandra was somewhere in mid-sentence when the song started. Alexandra stopped talking, gasping slightly. (The subject of conversation it was not important. After the third Lost Paradise, Lily could have said anything and she would have laughed like crazy.) “Oh my God. I can’t believe they’re playing this song.” Alexandra said while fingers started to tap against the table. Without even realizing, she started to sing along, in a low voice. In the beginning, that is.

It was a first.
A real, definite, total first. No questions asked. No doubt. No sh*t.
Lily was drunk.

They had been drinking for the better part of the night now, and laughing, and talking, and cursing at guys who were far away with no idea about what their friends/girlfriends/teammates/unspecified acquaintances were up to, and... drinking some more. The Hurricane season was over; they did their best to check out every cocktail on the menu, and about most of them Lily had no recollection whatsoever.
It was... very colorful. And dizzy. Like when you go one too many rounds on a carousel. Or spin around till you drop.
Somewhere in the back of her mind a small voice was chirping about missions, and duties, and self-control. It sounded like a bird. Li'l birdie.
Lily wouldn't let a bird ruin the mood.
“Oh my God. I can’t believe they’re playing this song.”
Alex was singing. Lily grinned, and laughed, and sang along. Looking at Alex across the table one part of her couldn't help but notice that she was still in a better condition than her friend.
Knocking back the rest of her last drink, she tapped Alex on the shoulder.
"C'mon sista." she called above the music and singing "We gotta get home... before the guys start lookin' for us."

“ Go on now go walk out the door
just turn around now
'cause you're not welcome anymore
weren't you the one who tried to hurt me with goodbye”

The light tap on her shoulder made Alexandra open her eyes and stop singing. “Huh?”

"C'mon sista. We gotta get home... before the guys start lookin' for us.”

Alexandra blinked a couple of times before her brain fully registered Lily’s words. “B-but…” Puppy dog eyes greeted Lily along with a pout. She didn’t want to leave! However, whatever rational part of her brain remained after the drinking made her realize that the other X’s coming to search for them was far from a good idea. Besides, who said that leaving the bar meant stop drinking?

“Aye Captain!” She said while she rose her hand to her forehead in a mocking salute. With a goofy smile upon her lips, the molecule manipulator rose from the table.

Whoa. The room was spinning. Hands were placed on the table for support, blue eyes were closed. When she opened them again, the room wasn’t spinning anymore. Her eyes searched for Lily… and found two Lilys?

The hell? Blink. Blink. The two Lilys morphed back into one. “Meh.” Too much alcohol? The thought never reached her head. With a wave she gestured the waitress to their table to bring the check. The girl rushed to the table. “Already leaving?” Pft. Already. They spent a couple of hours in the pub. Alexandra gave a nod, in slow motion, because any sudden movements, she found out, made her dizzy. The waitress handed her the check… which Alexandra had troubles reading at the first attempt. And second. And third.

After bringing the piece of paper closer to her eyes and narrowing them at it in a threatening manner she managed to catch a glimpse of the dancing numbers. The paper was thrown on the table. Retrieving the wallet was fairly easy… getting out the correct amount of money was difficult. In the end, Alexandra gave up. She threw a few bills on the table. Much more than necessary. “Keep the change.” she said to the awed waitress. “Com’on Lily.”

And she stepped away from the table. Come on. You can do it.

Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.

Whoa, the left foot not turn to the left.

In the end, she managed to reach the door. A hand extended toward the door handle. At first she missed it. Second time, it was better. Her finger tips actually touched it. The third time, it was a success.

I've got all my life to live
I've got all my love to give
and I'll survive

The music kept singing in the background as Alexandra pushed the door open.

“I WILL SURVIVE!”

And with a dramatic sigh she stumbled away.

Uh-oh. Alex had trouble standing. After watching her presentation of balance and agility, Lily braced herself for failing the first (few) attempt(s). To her utter surprise, standing up was not at all difficult. Hm.
She shimmied into her coat while Alex paid the waitress, and made a mental note with mental lipstick on a mental napkin to repay her later, hoping that that sum did not come from a very important budget she couldn't quite remember they were supposed to not touch. Hick.
Alex was less than steady on her feet. Lily was much more oriented, maybe because she had too much blood in her alcohol, or maybe because the whole experience was so new and exciting to her that she was keen on observing every detail and forgot to just go with it.
She walked out the door after Alex, and the cold - danm cold - night air slapped her in the face.
Whoa. Helloooo dizzyness.
“I WILL SURVIVE!”
She hurried to catch up with Alex and put an arm around her waist.
"Naah you won't sista not unless ya stay upright. There's a sweetheart. Now where did we come from?..."
Eyes narrowing, she turned around, spinning Alex around too, until she found a street that looked vaguely familiar.
"Letssss... go." she punctuated her order with a hiccup, and then a giggle, and dragged Alex out into the night.

A hand caught her waist helping her to stay on her feet. Alexandra glanced at her surroundings with narrowed eyes.

"Naah you won't sista not unless ya stay upright. There's a sweetheart. Now where did we come from?..."

Eyes were narrowed even more as her head turned from side to side. Remember: in slow motion. Lights danced in front of her eyes in all the colors of the rainbow.

“The lights… they are sooo pretty.”

But.

“But they burn my eyes.”

Both hands were raised to eye level, rubbing them for a few moments. When she stopped, she chose to stare at some random patch of concrete on the sidewalk. It was gray and dull. Also, comforting for her eyes.

"Letssss... go."

Hiccup. Giggle. And she was being dragged away.

Alexandra stopped abruptly. “Lilyhhh…”

Poke. Poke.

“Why don’t w-” Breathe in. Breathe out. “we get a cab?”

“The lights… they are sooo pretty. But they burn my eyes.”
"Yeah... pretty" Lily giggled with a dreamy smile. She was seeing a whole different set of lights; tiny gold and silver colored stars in the night all around, twinkling with a happy light, and occasionally even tinier sapphires and rubies and...
"Whoa." her usual sixth sense mixed up with alcohol was reeeeally something to look at. Or... sense at. Or whatever...
Lily blinked again an swayed as she tried to keep Alex from falling.
“Why don’t w-...we get a cab?”
Lily stood still for a moment as she considered the option. She followed her friend's example and breathed.
"We don't need to, hun." she answered finally, and a grin spread on her face "We are not... that far away."
The tiny precious starts were a bit wobbly and a bit too much, but clearly there was only one shining bright enough to be a person. And only one person was made of silver in this town, as far as she could tell...
"C'mon."
Okay, so maybe it wasn't all that close either. Or maybe they were just walking more slowly, with the singing and the occasional stops to sway and look around. And maybe they made a bee line, after bumping into a wall of two for following the light straight across a street.
"Twinkle twinkle Silver star... hic."
But finally, they made it back to the hotel.
Lily pushed the front door open, and the light and warmth of the lobby flooded over them.

"We don't need to, hun. We are not... that far away. C'mon."

Alexandra pouted… but followed. Stumble, stumble.

Damn, that wall wasn’t supposed to be so close.

Heh. That street sign wasn’t there a second ago either.

And apparently they weren’t that close to the hotel. Although the occasional stops as she and Lily thought of what song they should play next might have had a saying in that. Not that she minded. But, in the end, they were there and Lily pushed open the door.

“Lily! The hotel. More booze!”

Stumble, stumble once again and the lil’ molecule manipulator was spreading her arms on the receptionist’s desk a hand reaching for the silver colored bell.

Ding, ding, ding.

Ding, ding, ding.

Her ol’ pal, the sticky fingered receptionist appeared from a connected room, yawning and fixing his suit.

Ding, ding, ding.

“I heard it, I heard it.” He announced. Alexandra starred at him.

Ding. Smile.

“What can I do for you, miss?” System status: Commercial smile has been turned on.

Alexandra retrieved her hand from the bell as the receptionist reached his usual position. “Hey there mister…” She narrowed her eyes. Oh, how could she not know the name of her old pal? A shiny metallic tag on his chest caught her attention. Black was contrasting against the golden background. But, but… but the letters were dancing in front of her eyes. Blue eyes were narrowed even more. Failure. A hand reached out, grasping the black cloth of the jacket and pulled the man closer and closer until the letters stopped dancing.

A-B-R-A-M. Abram. “Mister Abram!” Alexandra chanted happily. “I’d like a bottle of…” Long pause. A bottle of what? In the end, blue eyes lighted up as her free hand rose into the air happily. “A bottle of Champaign! This night is to be CELEBRATED!” The blurred vision started to clear up, just in time to see the shocked expression of Mr. Abram. She smiled sweetly as the man finally managed to close his mouth.

“Miss, don’t you think you’ve had enough?”

Le gasp! The sweet expression of a drunken molecule manipulator changed into a menacing one. Blue eyes burned holes trough the receptionist. How dare he!? The hand that had been grasping the jacket moved on to the tie, pulling the man to her eye level. The other slapped the chubby cheeks of the receptionist… several times. “Bring me Champaign, fugly! NOW!”

Le gasp, again, this time coming from the receptionist. Mr. Abram cleared his throat. “Of course, miss.” He announced solemnly, straightening up. Her expression shifted to neutral as she let go to the tie. “Good. I’ll be waiting right here to make sure.” Pause. Tap, tap against the desk as the receptionist picked up the phone and called. Once he hung up, her sweet smile returned. “Thank ya, grumpy!”
Voila. Problem solved. No one, absolutely no one stays in the way of the goddess of molecules!

“Whee!” And Alexandra turned around looking for Lily a smile on her face.

Stumble, stumble. “Com’on Lilyh! Let’s wait the Champaign!” Stumble, stumble some more and she let herself drop in one of the comfy chairs in the lobby and patted the one next to her to gesture Lily to come. Now what to sing next? Oh! “Lily, next on the play list. Britney Spears!”

“Show me,
How you want it to be
Tell me baby
Cause I need to know now
Oh Because!

My loneliness
Is killing me!
COME ON LILY!
And I, I must confess
I still believe… still believe
When I’m not with you, I loose my mind
Give me aaaaaaa siiiiiiiiiiign!
HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!”

~*~

Back in the room connected with the reception, a chubby old man was picking up the phone and dialing the number of Sam Johnson’s room. The two young ladies in the lobby needed to be attended as soon as possible. As soon as Mr. Johnson answered the phone, Mr. Abrams took a deep breath then spoke quickly.

“Mister Johnson… Your presence is required. Your wife is singing in the lobby. And she’s not alone. I think you’ll need back-ups.”