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I never thought she would like me back.
I never thought she liked anyone like that, anyway, except for maybe Laura. They have the whole orphan thing in common -- Jubilee's parents died before any of us met her, and Laura's mom... I don't know what happened to Laura's mom. But Laura and Jubilee have always had a special bond. Plus, they hung out a lot in Paris together. Isn't Paris supposed to be romantic?
But here I am, trapped in a moving vehicle with the coolest girl in school. Except we're no longer students. And I can't help pressing my fingernail into my palm to make sure this is real.
"What do we do first?" Jubilee asks.
I try to think of an answer that's both not too flirty and not lame. "I thought we'd walk around at the fair?"
"You're right. The fair it is." Jubilee shifts Logan's car -- it's an old Mustang that growls like it's complaining; it fits its owner -- into a higher gear, and we roar away from the mansion towards the other side of Salem Center.
Jubilee and I aren't that far apart in age, but she feels so much older. For one, she's a mom. Shogo is the cutest being on earth and the true love of her life. Two, she's been part of the X-Men for forever. Three, she was my teacher! This feels pretty surreal.
"You've been kind of quiet today," Jubilee says. She glances over at me, and my head and stomach do a backflip.
"Just nervous." I feel so stupid saying this. "We've never been by ourselves together off-campus."
"I know, right?" Jubilee swerves into a parking spot and hits the brakes, flinging me forward against the seat belt. "No students, no drama, no Hank asking us to see his latest invention."
"Last time we didn't look at his latest invention, he brought Jean & Co. here," I say. Jean & Co. are the original five teen X-Men from decades ago. They time-traveled here and are stuck with us now. We love them, but it is a little awkward whenever Jean's in the same room as Rachel, her alternate timeline future daughter.
"Everyone will be fine. Kurt's in charge tonight. Let's have some fun." Jubilee slams the car door shut behind her and saunters over to the ticket booth.
The county fair is crammed with screaming kids and teens trying to look unimpressed. We pass by the ring toss game, where you try to land a plastic ring around a glass bottle.
"5 bucks for three tries! Step right up!" the booth attendant yells. "Who wants to win?"
"C'mon, Meg," Jubilee teases. "You know you want a giant panda."
I look up at the prizes. "Not really a panda girl... but that humongous Totoro needs a new home."
I fish $5 out of my jeans pocket and hand it to the attendant. He hands me the rings. "Good luck, miss. We haven't had a winner yet tonight!"
"Jean would kill at this game," I say to Jubilee.
"Or Betsy," she replies. Jean and Betsy, aka Psylocke, are telekinetic.
I lean over the railing, glare at the bottle closest to me, and lob a ring at it. It deflects off the bottle with a harsh ping.
"Darn it," I mutter. Jubilee laughs at me.
"That was a practice throw. This one's going to win," I say.
Jubilee raises an eyebrow. "Prove it."
I toss a ring at another bottle. It lands squarely around the bottle, but bounces up and flops onto the ground.
"What!" I yelp. "That landed! That won!"
The attendant shakes his head. "Sorry, it has to stay on the bottle."
Now I'm mad. I hold up the last ring. "Jubes, pick a bottle."
She points at the one on the corner farthest from me. "That one."
"Kiss me," I say. It's the boldest, most uncharacteristic thing I've ever said out loud, to anyone.
She smiles, slowly steps closer to me. I can see her eyes locking with mine, and for the first time in the years I've known her, she doesn't look cool. She looks vulnerable. Like her shoulders just relaxed and her guard dissolved away.
She kisses me. I feel her hand reach up and touch the back of my neck. My eyes are closed, and her lips feel like home, and I'm happier than I've ever been.
She slowly releases me, and smiles.
I turn back to the game, toss the ring up in the air, and it lands perfectly on the far bottle and stays.