A Magnetic Attraction

Posted on Mon Apr 22nd, 2024 @ 2:52pm by Bobby Drake & Lorna Dane

4,103 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: X Lang Syne
Location: Mansion
Timeline: Spring 1987

Lorna flipped through her copy of Seventeen Magazine while sitting on the steps of the mansion’s main staircase. Using a bright pink curly straw to sip on her can of Diet Coke, she attempted to remain as comfortable as possible while sitting in a most unusual and uncomfortable location.

At the sound of footsteps, she looked up to see Bobby arriving from the kitchen. A wide smile appeared on her face as she saw him. “Hey you!” Lorna’s cheerful voice filled the foyer as she greeted him with the ever present enthusiasm. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Oh, good, Lorna!” Bobby grinned and rubbed his hands together. “I wanna’ show you something…”

He set himself several paces from the bottom of the stairs and squared his shoulders.

“Ow!” Bobby’s hand and foot came up together in a shared jagged motion. His right shoulder started popping once, twice, several times. Then leaning, no, shimmying left and right, his hands flaring with fingers wild. It took Lorna a moment to realize he was dancing.

“Get it?!” asked Bobby while his hands went right to left and back again with his arms in velociraptor position. “Thriiiiillllllerrr! Thriiiillllerrrrrr!”

“Oh my god, you totally look like him.” Lorna laughed a little before taking another sip of her Coke. “You musta' watched that video, like, a million times to learn that. It would be so cool if you learned the whole dance!”

She watched him with a sugary, glossy grin. Lorna had started wearing makeup recently, a shimmer across her lids and blush on her cheeks, the extra bit of color made her vibrant green hair more of a fashion statement than an oddity. “Do you want to stay up and watch Saturday Night Live with me tonight?”

“Yasss!” Bobby exclaimed with far too much excitement. “Commercials said Robin Williams is hosting.” He grabbed his ears, shouted, “Nanu, nanu!” and laughed at his own impression.

“So good.” Lorna giggled. “It’s a date then.” She looked up at the top of the staircase. “I’m waiting for Jean to come down. She showed me the dress she’s wearing out tonight and I just about died when I saw it. I can’t wait to see her before she leaves.”

She took another sip of her Coke, the dark liquid moving in loop-de-loops before reaching her lip as her eyes lit up over the gossip she had to share. “Scott got them tickets to Guns N’ Roses at Madison Square Garden for her birthday. They’re going out to dinner before...”

Scott and Jean had graduated high school and were adults in the most elementary sense of the word, they didn’t have to follow the rules of curfews like students did.

“… And get this, they got a hotel room in the city afterwards.” Lorna raised her eyebrows as she told him, just the very implication seemed salacious to the teenager.

“Ew, I mean, aww man!” Bobby did his best to grin through the grimace that overtook his face. “They’re so bad! Like, bad as in cool.”

Suddenly Bobby wished the Professor would let him drive. He was almost old enough! Then he could take Lorna out to cool places and do… cool things. “Maybe we could go to a concert sometime…” Bobby scratched a nonexistent itch on his neck that still seemed to drive him crazy anyway. “Or something.”

“That would be rad.” Lorna looked up at Bobby with a more suggestive smirk. “I’d like to go to a concert or like something with you.”

Lorna looked up the stairs again as Jean made her way down. She was dressed in a skintight black lace minidress, her shoulders and legs bare as the fabric clung to every place it touched. Her long red hair was teased and curled to give her side parted style the desired volume that graced every magazine.

“Oh my god, Jean, you look like a babe from outta' music video.” Lorna squealed in delight as she watched Jean’s black stilettos make their way step-by-step down the stairs “I could gag, you’re such a Betty.”

“Thank you, Lorna.” Jean couldn’t help but laugh at her response. Lorna’s love of slang always amused her, the green haired mutant often felt like a little sister to Jean.

As if on cue, or at least through telepathic communication, Scott appeared in the foyer to meet up with Jean. His ruby covered gaze fixed on her as she made her way towards him. As she approached, he wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered something in Jean’s ear that created the most wicked and satisfying grin across her face before they began walking together towards the front door.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow Lorna, have a good night,” Jean said from over her shoulder as she exited with Scott.

Once they were gone, Lorna released a loud, swooning sigh as she dreamily stared at the front door. “He wants them to move into the big bedroom at the end of the hall together. She’s going to tell him ‘yes’ tonight.”

She stretched out across the stairs as she melted into her daydream. “It’s so romantic and so grownup of them.”

“Yeah, it’s hot,” Bobby said without thinking. “Not… not a bad idea at all. Good for them!” It was a miserable recovery but Bobby grinned anyway. “You getting any ideas?” Bobby teased her with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

“Well, yeah, like, someday.” Lorna sat up a little from Bobby’s suggestion, a little bit more serious than he was. “I totally would go all the way if I was in love like that.”

“Yeah!” Bobby agreed far more enthusiastically than he really felt. “Love and stuff. Love, love, love…” His mouth hung open after it ran out of words to say. “Hey, watch this!”

Bobby jumped back into center stage in front of the stairs and spun on his heel. “Ow!” He grabbed his crotch, then shuffled his feet backwards in an ice-assisted moonwalk dance. It ended in another spin with a finger pointed straight at Lorna. “It’d be better if I had a hat…”

“A hat would definitely help.” Lorna agreed before taking another sip of her drink, she seemed a little dejected by his response. Bobby never wanted to talk about their relationship, he never really wanted to talk about anything. “The library in town is holding a French film night next weekend. It’s classy stuff in black and white, very cultured. Do you want to go?”

“I don’t know any words but some of my favorite things are French,” Bobby said, counting off fingers on his hand. “French fries, French kissing, French letter…” That last one especially made him cackle with lurid delight. “Sounds like a riot! Wanna get some ice cream or something afterward?”

“Sure. But not too much ice cream, I don’t want to get fat. Maybe I’ll just have some of yours.” Lorna’s smile told him she was happy he said ‘yes’ to the movies.

“I’m glad you’re willing to go, there is an intentional ennui to the films.” She proudly used the ‘word of the day’ her desk calendar had taught her this morning. The makeup, the vocabulary building, seeking out culture, the want for a serious relationship, all of it was Lorna looking to grow up a little bit more.

Bobby had no idea what “ennui” meant but it sounded hot. All he could do was grin at Lorna's description of their next big date.

“Do you wanna do somethin’ right now? I got to see Jean’s dress so I don’t need to hang out here anymore,” Lorna said as she got up from her reclined position on the uncomfortable staircase, Coke and magazine in hand. “They looked so beautiful together, I’m totally jealous.”

“We could look beautiful together,” Bobby insisted, his jealousy taking a more active push. “I got shirts with buttons and collars and stuff too! Go put on one of your foxy skirts. We're gonna do something right now!”

Bobby had no idea what. The feeling just sort of took over and he was leading with it. Hopefully it was actually going somewhere.

“Really!?” Lorna gleefully squealed in delight, her bubbly tone going up another octave. “You’re the best Bobby!” She enthusiastically climbed the stairs and made her way to the girl’s dormitory.

Lorna was gone much longer than Bobby had anticipated, especially when all she had to do was ‘put on a skirt’. But when she finally returned to the foyer, she was dressed in a denim miniskirt and jacket, the neon orange of her crop top popping from under the acid washed blue jeans as she moved. Her bright green hair had been crimped to add volume, making it an even more shocking statement.

“So where did you pick?” Her bright white Keds making their way down the stairs with the same rapid excitement that had taken her upstairs earlier.

Bobby hadn't given it much thought. When he'd come downstairs after changing into his new California Raisins polo shirt, he caught a distant image of himself in the wall mirror. The tucked shirt looked weird. Bobby had untucked, retucked, and untucked several times, losing himself in the impossible binary decision until Lorna had interrupted it with her question.

Looking down, Bobby shrugged. Untucked it was. But now he had to improvise.

“I thought…we could…go to the…drive-in?” The sentence was out of his mouth before he knew how it would end. He waited with bated breath to see whether Lorna would buy it as anything other than a seat-of-the-pants suggestion.

“Oh wow, the drive-in!” Lorna gasped. “That means the Professor is letting you borrow a car?!”

Transportation to and from the school was deeply coveted amongst the younger students. Many were subject to taking the bus or requesting a ride from some of the older students who had their own cars, like Scott and his jeep. Xavier owned a handful of vehicles but it was only with permission that someone might be allowed to drive them and that permission wasn’t given out easily.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were allowed to take out one of the cars!? That shoulda been, like, the first thing you said.” Lorna was positively beaming at the idea of going to the drive-in, it was a social flex that would make any of the younger students green with envy.

Bobby's grin turned thin and nervous. “Yeah… that was part of the surprise, babe! So… surprise!” It was all he could do not to start sweating bullets. What if he couldn't pull this off? “You wait out front and I'll pull it around…”

“Oh sure Bobby.” Lorna continued to smile as she began to swoon over him rather than over Scott and Jean’s date.

The dash out to the garage didn't even register to Bobby. He was scurrying over to every cabinet and drawer in search of a key. It wasn't until he had circumvented half the room that he saw the corkboard on the wall with keys hanging from pegs.

“Finally!”

But Bobby soon found that the keys weren't all for vehicles. Garden shed. Supply shed. Landscaping shed. Maintenance shop. Wine cellar. He noted that one for later.

“Come on, come on, come on!” he whined until he found one that would fit a car. “Finally!”

He grabbed the key and read the logo on it. “Tudebaker? What's a Tudebaker?” Looking at the small collection of vehicles, he saw a sky blue four door sedan that said Studebaker Lark on the mesh grille. “Ohhh! Studebaker.”

Relieved that he had found a car, Bobby slid into the driver's seat and fired it up. It immediately lurched into the garage door hard enough to leave a dent.

“Shit!”

Bobby got out of the stalled vehicle and opened the garage door before he tried again. This time he didn't release the clutch until he babied the throttle forward. He could do this. His learner's permit said so. It took a few more lurches before he pulled out of the garage and up to the front steps.

“Oh my god, it’s like a classic or something.” Lorna looked over the compact car as she walked around it and hopped into the passenger side. She examined the bench seats with a smile. “This car is perfect for the drive-in.”

“Uh-huh, that’s what I thought too,” Bobby said, completely full of shit. “Let’s book it!”

The car lurched back to life, though Bobby managed not to stall it with Lorna in the car. It bumped its way down the driveway where Bobby let it coast in neutral until the gate opened. By the time he pulled onto Graymalkin Lane, he was starting to feel more competent.

“Wanna’ hit the radio?” he asked Lorna. “Find us some cruisin’ tuneage.”

“For sure.” Lorna reached out and began to fiddle with the knobs on the dashboard, like every teenager she knew the only two decent radio stations by memory.

‘I think we’re alone now
The beating of our hearts is the only sound…’

Lorna happily began to sing along with the saccharine sweet Tiffany song. She even shimmied a little in her seat as the verses continued.

“What movie are we seeing?” She finally asked, even though it didn't really matter.

“Uh, I forget,” Bobby said, covering his compound lies with another one. “Probably a double feature. I hope it’s—”

His sentence got cut off when he ran out of road. Or, rather, it had turned and he didn’t. In the blink of an eye, the Studebaker was nose deep in the ditch. “Ohhhh shhhhhiiiit!”

Lorna gasped in horror before covering her face and enduring the bumpy crash in the ditch. It was only when they made impact and the car was completely still did she look up.

“What happened? Are you okay Bobby?” She looked over at him and winced in pain from the movement. “Ouch, my neck.” Lorna said while placing a hand over the affected area.

“We crashed,” Bobby muttered. When he saw Lorna rubbing her neck, though, he really began to panic. “Damn it! Are you okay? Are you bleeding? Any hemorrhaging? Are you dizzy at all? Stay away from the light, Lorna!”

“My neck is just hurting. The rest of me is fine.” Lorna grimaced as she surveyed their current situation. “Why did we crash? Should I pull the car out of the ditch?”

Bobby perked up. Why hadn't he thought of that? “Yes! If you can. Don't hurt yourself.”

They were in deep shit but if they could get the car free and back to the mansion with minimal damage to it and themselves, then maybe they wouldn't be dead meat. Why oh why had he thought this was a good idea? “Easy does it…”

Lorna slowly scooted out of the car, a frown on her face as she moved. She waited for Bobby to get out of the car before she turned her attention towards the Studebaker.

The classic car had far more metal in it than a modern car, making it much easier for Lorna to move. Using her hands to help provide some additional direction, she dragged the car out of the ditch and back onto the road.

“How badly is the car messed up? Can you see?” While Lorna didn’t know the full extent of how much trouble Bobby was going to be in, she at least knew enough to know that a wrecked car was no good.

The grille was bent pretty good, but otherwise the frame looked in fair condition. It would also need a new paint job. All in all, it could’ve been worse.

“Well… I can try to start it back up,” Bobby suggested. “If it runs, it runs!”

While that had sounded good, it was also a false hope. The engine turned over but it wasn’t long before wisps of smoke came wafting up from under the hood. “That doesn’t look good…”

What could he do though? If there was a fire, he could put it out. Bobby pulled the hood release near the steering wheel before getting out and running around to the front of the car. The hood popped up easily enough, but when he did so, the thin wisps were replaced by thick billows.

“Oh god!” Bobby choked out.

“So it won’t start?” Lorna asked with another wince of pain as she climbed out of the ditch. With a hand on her neck she looked back down the road they had just come from then back at the car.

“It’s not that far, I guess I can tow it back to the mansion. How much trouble will we be in?”

“A lot is my guess,” Bobby said. He tried to remember what his dad told him about cars. Smoke. Heat. Radiator! If the engine was overheating, he could just make it not do that. “Hold on, I got an idea!”

Bobby encased the entire engine block in a thick layer of ice. If that didn’t do it, nothing would.

“Lemme’ try one for more time.” Bobby hopped behind the steering wheel and cranked the guy again. The engine started burbling, having gone from hot to cold in a matter of seconds. It was a hard start but it finally turned over. “Yes! And there’s not even any smoke! Wanna try the drive-in again?” He looked back over at Lorna in excitement and flinched as she braced her neck with her hand. “Or… maybe we should go get your neck looked at.”

“I really wanted to go to the drive-in with you.” Lorna pouted over the idea of going home. “But will it start again if we park it somewhere? I don’t want to have to tow the car all of that way.” She continued to hold her neck as she debated what to do even though she knew what the right answer was. “My neck does hurt, I guess we should just just go back.”

Bobby took a deep, heavy sigh. Disappointing Lorna here and now was worse than letting her down by doing nothing at all. He put the car into reverse and then back into first gear once it was facing the right direction.

“I’m really sorry,” he said, “for letting you down.” The mansion gates were in sight. Their short-lived adventure was coming to an end. “I’ll tell the Professor it was just me. You hurt your neck by tripping down the stairs, yeah? No need for us both to get the heat.”

“That’s really sweet of you to offer Bobby but he always knows when I’m lying.” Lorna was terrible at hiding her thoughts from the telepath, Xavier could read her like an open book. “It’s okay, I don’t mind, I appreciate you at least trying to take me out on a date tonight. It’s the thought that matters, right?”

Bobby grimaced so hard it made his face scrunch. A tight round of sniffling fluttered through his nose. “I guess…” Scott and Warren always made it seem so effortless. Why couldn’t Bobby pull off the romance like they did? It felt like he couldn’t do anything right. “There’s still SNL, right?” But the suggestion fell flat with his half-hearted tone.

“Sure Bobby.” Lorna looked at him and attempted to offer some positivity. He always tried so hard to impress her and even when his attempts fell short, it still made her feel special.

“That is, if we’re allowed to watch TV.” She frowned while contemplating even more types of punishment.

“Maybe we can just read in the library together while everyone else watches TV?” Lorna offered, she always tried to find the good in the situation.

Bobby started laughing so hard it turned to giggles. But then he realized Lorna had been serious. “Oh! Uh, yeah.” He cleared his throat in a hasty recovery. “We’ll, uh, go read… something. Know any good books?”

Another thought occurred to him. “We could always wait until tomorrow before we confess?” That felt dirty but Bobby felt like a huge idiot. It was the best he could come up with on the spur of the moment to try and salvage Lorna’s evening. “But… your neck…”

Bobby brought the car to a stop while the gate opened. He punched the steering wheel in frustration. As if in response, the temperature gauge shot up to the red line which brought a bone-jarring clunking sound from the hood.

“No, no, nooo! I’m sorry! Please don’t!”

The brief moment of idling had overheated the engine and caused it to seize up. This time the closed hood couldn’t contain the billowing smoke. Bobby’s forehead fell to the steering console as he let out a pitiful groan.

“I’m so sorry, Bobby.” She did her best to try and comfort him “At least it’s back at the school, I can move it to the garage from here. That is, when it stops smoking.” Lorna slowly climbed out of the Studebaker before the smoke got any worse.

“Dude, you are so dead.” Long and lean like his older brother but blonde haired and blue eyed, Alex Summers made his way down the driveway toward Bobby and Lorna.

“Tell me something I don't know,” Bobby spat. “Or just kill me now and spare the Prof the trouble.”

“That won't be necessary”, said Professor Xavier. His voice projected audibly from all directions. As they all looked around, a transparent apparition of the Professor appeared before them.

“Oh great…” Bobby moaned. “Fuck my life…”

“That will be quite enough of such talk,” said the Professor's colorized silhouette. “Alex, take Lorna down to the Infirmary and see she is made comfortable until I can go there myself.” Though his tone was no more imperative than before, it still punched harder, at least for Bobby. “As for Mr. Drake, I will see you in my office immediately.”

Hanging his head low in defeat, Bobby mumbled a terse, “Yes, sir…”

“I’ll talk to you later tonight, okay, Bobby?” Lorna tried to give him something to look forward to. She was about to say something else when Alex reached out and took her hand.

“Are you okay, Kitten?” His recently established pet name for Lorna simply because she was so cute. Taking advantage of the situation, Alex began to tenderly escort her to the infirmary.

“It’s a shame you didn’t get out for the night. Did anyone tell you how pretty you look?” A sly smile curled Alex’s lips knowing all too well what the answer was going to be.

“Actually, no.” A sudden realization that planted a seed in Lorna’s mind. “That’s nice of you to notice Alex, and it's like, really sweet of you to say.”

Poor Alex stepped in a slick spot and fell right on his back. The gasp he let out on impact made him lay there a moment before moving. Maybe both of them would need the Infirmary tonight.

Bobby kissed his fingertips and flicked it at Lorna. A gust of wind blew over Lorna's face and planted a frosty lip imprint on her cheek. He gave her a soft wave before going to meet his fate in the Professor's office.

Lorna placed a hand over her cheek as the cool kiss melted into her. She offered Bobby a small smile as he walked off, a puppy dog look of admiration in her eyes for him.

“Ouch,” grumbled Alex as he sat up. “He’s so immature.”

Lorna looked down at Alex and the hand on her cheek immediately dropped. “Lemme help you.”

She offered him her free hand while she continued to hold her sore neck. As he moved to stand, the space between them diminished and Lorna had never noticed the dusting of freckles across the bridge of Alex’s nose before.

“Thanks, Kitten.” Alex’s voice was soft and sincere, he seemed to be noticing something new about Lorna at the same time. “Looks like we both took a hit thanks to Iceman. Let’s take it easy and make our way to the infirmary together.”

“I’d like that.” Lorna replied with a familiar swoon in her voice. “I’d like that a lot.”

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