10/19 Instance: Hay is for Horses

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Josh was almost done cleaning his room - a monumental task by normal standards, not being the most orderly person, but this time it was doubly so. Even though he'd washed, sprayed, disinfected, and wiped down his entire room, the whole place still smelled rank. No thanks to the catfish bait a certain icicle man had hidden in his room. He was pretty sure he still hadn't unearthed every "treasure" the prankers left behind.

He looked around once more for wayward beets and other spoiled food, but didn't spot anything he hadn 't the first twenty times around. With a sigh, he flopped on the bed and closed his eyes.

Rachel knocked on Josh's door, checking the bucket to make sure none of the paint balloons had bursted. Okay, she had the fish and balloons for Lorna and Tess. Now, they just needed to come up with something for Bobby.

Josh heard the knock and grunted "come in!" into his pillow. He already knew it had to be Rachel. Everyone else was steering clear because of the stink - and maybe also his mood.

Her nose wrinkled as she slipped into the room. It smelled worse than her room. "Hey," she set the bucket down, looking him over, "So, ready to get back at them?"

"You have to ask?" he said, lifting his head. He rolled himself out of bed and brushed his hair back, then eyed her bucket. "Found some ammo, 007?"

"Yep. I have ideas for Lorna and Tess, but nothing for Bobby. Figured I'd leave that to you."

A smirk drew across his lips. "Oh, I have something perfect in mind for Otter-pop. But let's take care of the girls first. Want me to carry something?"

"Sure, carry the fish," she held it out to him, "So, who's first?"

"Oh, sure, make me carry your smelly fish," Josh teased, laughing as he sauntered out the door. He kicked it shut after Rachel, hoping the open window would air it out more. "Do you know if our targets have left their roosts?" he asked as they headed to Tessa's room.

She shrugged, smirking, "I've been carrying it all day. And yeah, telepathy." Rachel slipped into Tessa and Rogue's room. "The fish is going in here anyway."

"Ah, telepathy. Handy-dandy, that. Man, I feel bad doing this to Rogue, but all's fair in love and war..." He searched around for a good place to hide the fish, then finally decided to squish it under the dresser. "How's that," he asked, squatting down and taking a whiff of the fish. "Ewww..."

"I can think of a better place," she squatted down next to him and glanced around the dresser for a space. Glancing at the fish, she shrugged. It was worth the swollen knuckles. "Rogue will live. She probably won't be happy, but whatever."

Once she found a space big enough for her arm to reach, Rachel punched a hole in the wall and stuffed the fish in, "Wow, that smells really bad."

Josh gaped at Rachel, then turned to stare at the makeshift hole. "For pete's sake, woman!" he exclaimed. "Are you made of steel?" But, he had to admit, that was a much better hiding place, as long as... "Can ya think of a way to hide that hole?"

Shaking her hand, she nodded, "Damn, that fucking hurt." Rachel glanced clenched and unclenched her hand a few times, "But yeah, I can think of something."

Rachel looked around the room and used her teke to summon the dirty towel that was on the floor, using it to cover the hole.

Josh laughed. "OK, that'll do. Lemme see your hand." He reached out to take her hand.

"Definitely. We gotta save the best for last." Josh concentrated, lightly rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "Is the pain gone?" he asked after a moment.

"Yeah, thanks," she smiled, getting up, "You get to carry the bucket now."

He sighed. "Slave-driver. Which way to Lorna's?"

"You know you like it," Rachel led the way to Lorna's room and glanced around before slipping into the room.

Josh reached into the bucket and picked up one of the heavy, paint-filled balloons. "So what's your ingenius plan for these babies? We gonna change Lorna's hair color?" he asked.

"Tempting, but no. Just hide in spots where they're likely to be crushed. What do you have planned for Bobby, by the way?"

He chuckled darkly, grabbed some balloons and carefully placing them in hidden spots where Lorna would be likely to smush them. "I just thought we could redecorate his room a bit... help him showcase his own personality a little better."

She grabbed a few balloons and placed them before smirking evilly, "Ooooh, redecorating. Sounds like fun." Okay, she couldn't resist. Rachel tossed one of the balloons in the direction of Josh's feet.

It burst and covered his bare toes and legs with green paint. He shrieked and jumped back. "You maniac!" he cried, grabbing a red balloon and chucking it at her feet.

She laughed as the balloon spewed black paint on her black pants, "Yeah, that's noticable," she hid a few more balloons, tossing another over her shoulder at him.

So much for letter Lorna make the mess herself. Josh gathered an armfull of balloons and pelted them at Rachel. His clothes were already ruined, not that he cared. He wondered what Lorna would say at the sight of her brand new rainbow-themed room.

Rachel held up her arms to sheild her face from the paint and grabbed some balloons.

She looked down at her now ruined clothes. Oh well, it was fun. Plus, she could always have Josh just go shoppping with her for more...well, if he wanted to. She sighed as she stared into the empty bucket, "Out of ammo."

"Damn, me too." Josh started to stride to the door, then whirled around and aimed one last balloon at her. "NOW we're out of ammo," he smirked.

She flinched as the balloon hit her, "Lovely," Rachel tried to wipe the paint off her face, knowing that it was probably just smudging. "Now for Bobby."

"We're a matching pair now," Josh commented, and gestured to his gold skin. "This is the first time you've been as colorful as me."

"Suppose it is," she snickered. "Do you have any idea how many showers I'll have to take to get this out of my hair?"

"Why? It's not like you don't color your hair on a regular basis. Just leave it. You'll start a new trend."

"It'll get all crusty and everything though, and I haven't colored my hair since the blonde and pink."

"You pay to look good," Josh said with a shrug. "Anyway. Let's get going. We'll need both our manpower... or womanpower... to get everything we need from the stables in one go."

"Pffft...I always look good." Rachel quirked an eyebrow, "Stables?"

"I never said you don't," he replied, eyes twinkling. "Yeah, stables. We'll need hay, oats, manure... all the basics to give Bobby's room a 'homey' atmosphere. He is an ass, after all."

"Like you'd tell me if I did." She smirked, "Bobby's not that bad, but I like it. It's evil."

"You haven't notice I'm brutally honest?" He looked at her incredulously. "And I know. I agree. But he put catfish bait in my room. CATFISH bait. This requires major retribution."

"Of course not," she replied sarcastically. "Well, I'd prefer catfish bait. He took my MUSIC."

"I can lend you music. You need to be exposed to more classical songs anyway." Josh walked into the stable and put his hands on his hips. "Let's see... This is going to be time-consuming," he said, staring at a sizable
block of hay.

"You're kidding, right?" She looked around. Well, this should be fun.

"By no means. You take the other end," he said, slipping his fingers under the hay and startin to lift it.

"I go through classical hell during lessons, so I think I'm cool..." She grabbed the other side and lifted. "You couldn't chose something that was lighter."

He looked at her incredulously. "What's a stable without hay?" He let out an oof as they struggled out the door with it. "You couldn't magically whisk it up with your mind powers, could ya?" he gasped as he backed into a wall.

"Don't give me that look," she poked her tongue out at him. "I guess I could try. I tend to avoid lifting stuff that's heavier than me."

"Well, don't do it if it'll hurt you. I'd rather break my back then have to try to heal you after you've knocked yourself out. I can always heal my back."

"Nice to know you're concerned about my health," Rachel looked the hay over. Well, in addition to Rogue, Scott may kill them now for raiding the stables. "I can try, I guess."

"You sure?" He looked concerned now. "Stop if you feel any strain, ok?"

She took a deep breath and focused on lifting the hay with a small smile, "It's cool. I'll be fine."

"OK," he said hesitantly. "Give it a shot then. Just keep in mind... if you get hurt pranking Bobby, it's my ass he'll be kicking, not yours. How's that for altruism?" he teased to lighten the mood.

She smiled slightly as the hay lifted. Jeez, it was heavy. "Okay, well. I'm taking this to Bobby's room while I still have a hold on it, kay? You wanna grab whatever else we need?"

"Yeah, yeah." He gathered as much as he could quickly, not wanting to leave her by herself for long. He found a pail and a bag of oats, and for good measure tossed one of the horse's blankets that smelled distinctly of horse over his shoulder. He lugged his baggage after Rachel. "How you doin'?" he called when they were in hearing distance.

"Okay," she yelled back, taking another deep breath. Yeah, definently going to have a migraine later.

Josh caught up to her and pushed open the door to Bobby's room. Entering, he dumped his load on the bed, then hurried to help Rachel put down the hay. "I've got it."

Rachel let her grip on it go and let out a breath, "That thing is heavy. So, what's next?"

"Turn this place into a regular pig pen," Josh said. "Let's get the hay on the bed and on the floor, and... I'll put this blanket over the bed." He ripped off Bobby's quilt and threw the horse blanket over it. Dust and dirt rose like a cloud, and Josh sneezed.

Rachel worked on spreading the hay around, coughing a bit at the dust, "Ew."

"'Ew' is what I'm going for." Josh tossed a heap of hay over the blanket and spread it out.

"I figured," she smirked, rolling her eyes, "That's kinda become the theme."

Josh scattered oats over the floor and in Bobby's dressers. The pail (which contained grimy water and something that look like the butt of a cigarette) he hid in a corner. "It needs something else... Hold on." Sprinting outside, he gathered mud in a bucket and brought it back to Bobby's room. He smeared the mud on the floor and drew horse prints around the room. "Messy enough yet?"

"Yeah, I think it is. Good job, young padawan."

"Thank you, my master. Now. Aside from the rooms, we're pretty messy ourselves." He looked at his own paint and dirt-covered clothes, hay sticking in his hair then over at Rae, who looked much the same. He started to laugh. "Geez, we look... we look like we pranked ourselves." He clutched his side and stumbled into the dresser, doubling over.

Rachel glanced down at herself and back at Josh, shaking her head, "Well, it's not that bad...aside from the paint and the dirt and hay...." She snickered at him running into
the dresser.

"You're a regular Picasso piece," he gasped out, pointing and laughing.

"Pffft. You're one to talk," she poked him.

"Watch it, iron-fingers!" He poked her shoulder. And again. And again.

Rachel laughed and poked him back, "First, you nail me with that balloon, and now you're going to poke me to death..."

"You started it both times, woman!" Josh swiped at her, brushing away a few stray threads of hay. "You also started the popcorn war. I think you're just vindictive."

"I did? I don't recall," she gave him an innocent look as she poked him in the ribs a few more times.

"Sure you don't." Grinning, he tried to swat away her pokes, then grabbed one of her wrists. With his free hand he started to tickle her side.

Rachel squirmed and grabbed his hand with her free one, "Ha."

"Ha, what!" He tried to jerk his hand out of her grasp while keeping ahold of her wrist, inadvertently backing them both against Bobby's dresser. "You know, you need to..." He leaned forward and kissed her.

Rachel felt her back hit Bobby's dresser and tensed for a moment as Josh kissed her before kissing back.

He didn't know why he'd done it. He just knew it felt good. But he jerked away suddenly with his mouth hanging open, and started to say... something

She looked for somewhere to stare besides at him. Oh shit...what the hell was she supposed to say?

[wingyding]

Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhhh, you two are evil.
We will get you for this.

[Slarti]

Oh my. I sense an escalation in the air. AND making moves on her in Bobby's room!

[Feuerstein]

Bobby's room is Makeout Central.

[steyn]

I'm a little curious, does all mansions in America have flimsy walls, or is it just Xavier's?

[Esynthia]

Ohhhhh yeah, Rae and Josh are going to get it from Ro... er... Bloody Anna and Tessa.

You'll never know when it's coming, but it will come.