The next four days were hell.

Day 1- Spent it yelling at Susan the whole time, it went something like this;

“ADMIT IT YOU SLEPT WITH HIM!”-Susan

“I DID NOT!”-Me

“YOU SAID SO YOURSELF!”-Susan

“I WAS BEING SARCASTIC! PEOPLE USE SARCASIM YOU KNOW!”-Me

“NOT IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT THEY DON’T!”-Susan

“ADMIT IT!!”-Susan

“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!”-Me

It was a nightmare, plus Johnny kept combusting at any point if he glares at me for too long. That first time he wasn’t prepared or wearing any fire proof underwear, don’t worry I looked away before I saw anything I’d regret…would I have regretted? Maybe I should have looked…hmmm…

Day 2- Ben Grimm voted himself best candidate to give me ‘the talk’;

“I’m just saying,” he was talking to me while I was eating breakfast watching Regular Show. “in situations like these, protection-”

“AAAHH!!” I was sitting crossed legged but I threw my bowl down and covered my ears. “Lalalala! I’m not listening!”

Johnny had put on his Fantastic Four suit and walked into the room when Ben said.

“I don’t blame you for having an active libido, its Captain America for crying out loud! I’m just saying having a cond-”

“Oh my God! Stop talking!” I shriek.

Johnny burst into flames again but this time he didn’t try to control it. I run out of the room with my hands over my ears and Ben chasing after me.

Day 3- Susan and I got at it again. This time turning the living room in a death zone:

“Ladies please!” Herbie tried to reason with us.

Susan was hovering off the floor and I covered my arms in daggered spikes of deadly peaked ice.

I yelled a battle cry as I charged at her and Susan threw everything in the room at me. Ben ran in and tackled the TV safely to the ground before it made contact with anything and broke.

“Hey! Rule number one about fighting! Never the TV!” He yelled.

Day 4- I had the most humiliating talk of my life with Reed Richards:

“I’m a virgin” I say with my eyes squinted shut.

“I know that” he replied calmly, still doing his work.

“I know that you know that! But it’s not something a girl my age likes to say out loud!” I growl.

“I did not know that” he says nonchalantly and types on his computer, not spearing me a glance.

I grind my teeth and try not to freeze his ass, “Well could you please tell your wife, brother-in-law, and bestfriend what you do know?”

“They either won’t listen or won’t believe me” he says it again without much effort.

I feel my fingers start to freeze. Any moment now.

“Then convince them” I say in a deadly whisper.

“How?” he asked stupidly.

“YOU’RE THE GENIUS! FIGURE IT OUT!” I couldn’t help but yell.

Reed turns in his seat and grins at me, “Why Miss Howard, I don’t like your tone.”

“Urgh!” I march out of his lab and enter my room, banging the door shut.

I throw myself on my pillow and scream into it.

For the love of God! Can’t people take a joke? What’s worse is I suspect Susan is on the verge of calling Cap herself and asking him and that’ll be a night mare waiting to happen.

I groan out loudly.

“For what it’s worth, I’m on your side Victoria” Herbie says. “I totally 100% believe you.”

“Thank you Herbie, but unless you have a virginity scanning device application in your hard drive, that won’t be of much help.” I grumble from my pillow.

Silence.

“Herbie!? You do?” I shot my head up from my pillow, “If you do you gotta help me! As embarrassing as it is, it has to be done.”

More silence.

“Herbie?” Nothing.

“Herbie!”

“Oh sorry, I was watching Ben hold Susan back from calling Avengers Tower, it’s quite entertaining”

I open my mouth and let out a loud wail that ended in a pitiful moan.

I was looking down at my toes in utter depression when-

“Who’s in here?!” Johnny yelled as he charged into the room.

“No one is in-” I start to say.

“Don’t start that bullcrap with me” Johnny points a menacing finger in my face. “I heard you moan, not once, but twice!”

I brain clicks into action.

“I was sad!” I cry defensively.

“No no no! You are not having sex in this room and the man will live to walk out” Johnny’s hand and arm caught fire but his leather jacket didn’t seem to be melting off.

“Is it Steve?” he runs over to my curtains and yanks them aside. Seeing nothing he moves on to check under my bed, the curtains had caught fire so I jumped over Johnny’s head and blast snow on the fire. I turn and find Johnny getting up from the floor, leaving scorch marks on the carpet and the side of my bed. “Or that blond kid that was in the elevator with you?”

I coat a layer of ice over the floor and bed and ran after Johnny whom was heading to my closet.

“Or is it your ‘bestfriend’ David?” he says over his shoulder.

I barely manage to wiggles myself between Johnny and my closet door. I throw my hands out to my sides in a clear indication that he wasn’t allowed in.

“So the guy’s in there is he?”

I was so angry that I couldn’t do anything but remain silent, for fear that if I open my mouth I might freeze his ass into the next millennia.

My silence makes Johnny’s blue eye’s go just as cold as my ice.

“Move” he says.

I stand my ground.

He increases the heat and flames on his arm, I look him dead in the eye and finally let myself freeze. I’ve always been afraid to complete coat myself in ice but Johnny Strom has given me no other option. The wind in the room began to pick up.

“I will say this for the last time,” I say menacingly cold. “No one is in here. Leave.”

Johnny takes another step closer and completely shadows me, “Move.” he says it with such force it would’ve chilled the blood of a lion. But I’m ice, you can’t chill ice.

“Hmmm, this is way more interesting to watch” Herbie says.

We don’t so much as spare him a glance.

Johnny bursts into flames and I completely freeze over.

I look up at him, daring him to make the first move. The ice was everywhere, consuming me, altering my vision so everything I saw was in light blue. I could feel my heartbeat slowing down and my strength rising up, I could feel every bit of warmth in me slipping away. The speed of the wind in the room began to come with snow.

Johnny on the other hand had melted off his clothes, whether he wore he’s suit under it or not I couldn’t tell, the intensity of the blaze coming from him made it near impossible to keep my glare level.

“If you wanna fight I’m standing right here” I growl out like a ferocious tiger.

The cold was everywhere…nowhere…in and out it was consuming…controlling. I could feel my soul slipping away. Darkness edge around my eyes, the ice coated them over, I could barely see anything. My teeth seem to dislodge from my gums and begin to crack, my finger nails threatening to fall off.

Yet I didn’t care, my emotions and sanity were slipping away as well. Soon I’ll be nothing but an empty shell, a girl lost in darkness…and I didn’t care.

“Vick?” I hear Johnny’s voice. But I couldn’t quiet locate him, he was a hazy orange blur. “Vick!”

The air sizzled where heat and cold meet, I hear Herbies circuits spark and soon I know he’s been fried.

The air in the room became visible, rising upward in a wave pattern. I feel my shoulders slack down limply, my neck cracking back.

I throw my head back in a desperate attempt to gasp for air, my lungs felt as if they’d been stuff with snow-they probably had.

I was dying.

In front of the person I least wanted with me.

“Vick, can you hear me!” I hear Johnny’s voice laced with fear and worry.

I was surprised I still heard him through the roaring of the blizzard in my head, like I’d been dropped off at the North Pole without so much as a single pair of underwear. My arms stick out to the sides like popsicle stick as my skin turns to glass ice, the fear coursing through me masked the pain…just barely.

“Victoria!” Johnny screamed.

Turns out the blizzard wasn’t only in my head, a small tornado of ice wind had formed around me, ice everywhere…

I managed to crack my head down, and looked at the warm red being emitting heat I can barely remember.

“So cold” I manage to say. As an ice crystal-supposedly my tear- falls down my face.

Then Johnny grabs me, I hear him cry out. In pain?

He crushes his lips down on mine and enfolds me in his embrace.

He blazed brighter, and I can hear the grinding of his teeth. As if fighting back at intense agony.

The warmth was melting the ice…but he didn’t even scratch the surface. I was still plunging, the darkness was a massive void below me, a blackhole fighting to suck me in.

“C’mon Victoria fight it” Johnny says forcefully.

He grabs what should have been my top but now just icy peaks of death, he melts them down and wraps his arms around and below my armpit.

I feel it.

The warmth, it’s right there but still far away. Should I fight it? Join him in the warmth?

“I can’t do this alone,” Johnny says softly. “You need to fight it with me, c’mon!”

He jerks me up and slams me against the wall. The fire from him rises to new heights, literally, coils of fire shot up from him and dig into the ice around me.

“But the cold…” I manage to say in an airy voice. “It peaceful…it’s inviting. It wants me there, it’s calling me”

“Well it can’t have you,” Johnny says and kisses me even harder. “I want you more.”

I feel a string in my heart tug. It starts pumping blood again.

I lock my legs around Johnny’s hips and kiss him back.

“Oh thank God” he says out loud gratefully.

And he kisses me again…and again…and again.

I wasn’t complaining.

My head throbbed, my joints ached, and I need to electrocute my heart to get it to work properly again. But I’m in Johnny’s arms, and I realize that’s where I always wanted to be.

Our mouths move in sync, my pelvis grinded against his lower waist, my chest and boobs crushed against his. I could feel his heart pounding strongly against his ribs, was it from fear or the kiss? Right now, I could care less.

I was still ice and Johnny was still fire, but he was lending me his heat. Chasing the darkness away, chasing the cold away. Showing me what true warmth was like. Sharing with me his heat, and what better way to do that with a kiss?

He angled his head, he reached up his right hand and placed it on my rib, right under my breast. His thumb skims just below it and I gasp, he takes his opportunity and slides his tongue right in, slipping through me.

The kiss becomes fiercer as my hands tangled in his hair and clawed at his neck, he presses me more firmly against the wall, as if he couldn’t get enough of me. His kiss was liquid fire.

And then, he places his hand on my chest. Right above my heart, and sends down a shower of warm rays.

I sighed out loud, and we slip to the floor.

Our limbs tangled and our bodies merged and his lips connected to my face.

He rains down tiny kisses on my face, warming it up.

The blue haze had melted from my eye and I see Johnny’s face, it was laced with worry and his brows frowned in concern. But his eyes, they held a certain look of desire that no man should hold.

He leans forward and kisses my forehead, longer then all the rest combined.

“I’m warm now” I manage to say with a sarcastic air and tone.

He pulls away and looks at me.

I expected a narcissistic comment. Typical Johnny, he kicks you even when you’re down.

“I didn’t sleep with Fifi or Brigitte that night. Brigitte had just come to town and she didn’t have a place to stay, she called her college roommate and asked if she could crash with her. Fifi happened to have a spare key to my room-Lord knows I don’t know how- so she brought Brigitte over with her. I was at the dirt bike track till it was really late and I came back to find two girls in my room, yes it was a dream come true. But I couldn’t pull myself to do anything because not only were you next door but Brigitte isn’t that freaky. I let them stay while I slept off in my bath tub because it’d seemed rude to leave them and crash in the living room.

“I’m sorry you had to see that. I told Fifi what she said was too much and she was taking things too far. She never had a soft spot for you. Girl stuff I guess, but you have to believe me. Nothing happened that night, I may be a dick but I’m not a douche.”

I kiss him, strong, hard and deep. Parting my mouth before he even needed to think about it. Once we finally caught out breath we slowly pull away.

“Only you would think one is better than the other” I breathe out. I kiss the tip of his lips again, “Nothing happened with Steve, nothing happened with anyone. I’m a virgin.”

Johnny’s whole demeanor and posture goes rigid.

I thought he’d be happy by that news. I think to myself.

He recovers and tries for a cocky grin.

“You sure?” he peeks down at my waist, “Cause the way you moving those hips…fuck you should be a pro”

I laugh and playfully push at his chest, I bite my lips. I so wanted another kiss, so I just went in for it. He momentary responds till he quickly grabs my shoulders and pushes me away.

“No this is wrong” he manages to choke out, like he wanted to throw up.

“What?” I was so confused.

I shivered.

The cold wanted to come back.

Johnny notices and quickly hugs me, but this time instead of kissing me he puts his chin on the middle of my head, right at the crown.

What the fuck is going on?

“Johnny! Victoria!” Susan skids into the room. “What the hell happened here?”

The finally look around my room, and find out it was totaled. Skid and burn marks laced the wall, ice smears and jagged peaks pop out everywhere. It looked like a fire tsunami and an ice hurricane went toe to toe in my room and came out a draw.

“Are you guys alright?” she ran over.

Ben was hot on her heels and Reed stretched into the room, with what look like a hand held PDA scanning my bedroom.

“I’m fine-”

“No she’s not!” Johnny shoots up from the ground, basically carrying me with him.

He ignores his sister and marches over to Reed, not letting go of me the whole time.

“You need to check her out Reed” he stresses. “Something’s wrong with her powers”

Ben eyes transformed to worry, “Vick is this true?”

“No, Johnny’s just exaggerating. It was no-”

“It’s not nothing!” He blocks me off, he had one arm around me, lending me warmth, and the other making gestures. “I saw it with my own eyes, we almost lost her”

“Oh c’mon Johnny” Ben says with a wave of his hand.

“Lost her how?” Susan runs over to ask.

“I don’t know!” Johnny’s eyes looked wild and afraid, his face portrayed that of panic. “It was like…I saw the color in her eyes draining out. It terrified the stars outta me”

Johnny turns back to Reed, his eyes filled with rage.

“You, egghead, check her. Fix her.” He growls.

Reed still hadn’t looked up from his device, and Johnny looked about ready to grind his teeth into his gums.

“Vick?” he says.

I look up at Reed.

“What happened? If it’s nothing we all walk away now, but if there’s something wrong you need to let us know” he says calmly.

I take a deep breath, time to come clean.

“My powers come with a side effect” I say.

Everyone gasped.

“How long have you known this?” It was Johnny who asked.

I fiddle with my fingers. “About the time I first got them…that same day I woke up”

“What!?” I couldn’t tell whom yelled cause they all did.

“It’s nothing” I say, “It’s just…when I freeze over. Like how fire completely coats Johnny, I…get…so…cold” just the thought makes me shiver and Johnny places both his fiery hands on my arms.

“There’s this darkness, I don’t know if it’s in me but it gets so overwhelming, so controlling that I can’t see, feel, hear, or even think. I lose all human emotion, I become a hole, and the darkness sort of invites me to come towards it. To rest, be at peace...accept the cold”

Everyone in the room becomes dead silent, even Johnny’s fire didn’t seems so hot anymore. I felt like I should continue talking.

“It wasn’t bad-at first, so long as I didn’t freeze over I was okay. I had powers! They were cool!” I laugh at the irony. “I guess I didn’t know how strong the pull could be when I freeze, I mean, I was stinking into the dark void-I was conscious of that, but I didn’t want to fight it, I didn’t care. Didn’t care that I’d leave you guys, my family, friends, everything. And that’s scary”

My voice cracks at the end.

“I thought if I didn’t talk about it then it wasn’t real, it didn’t exist, because I’m terrified to think that something like that was inside me” I didn’t know when I began to sob dry sobs.

I held my chest.

“And you kept this to yourself!” Johnny says.

I shiver again, and not from cold.

Johnny mistook the sign and hugs me, letting his flames lick around me.

“It wasn’t the cold that made me shiver” I whisper in his ear. Why do I say these things! Gosh, I’d sooner cut my tongue!

He stiffened again.

“My lab, now” Reed says and he walks out.

“You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to get in here” Ben says, trying to be lighthearted. “The heat and cold practically formed a door!”

Johnny bends down and scoops me up, he jugs after Reed towards the lab. Practically ignoring everyone.

I look down.

Johnny’s flames had gone off and my ice had completely melted.

“Johnny?” I say.

“Yeah?”

“We’re in our underwear.”

Susan screams.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Yay! I finished this book at 21:05! So that’s a lot better than midnight!

Horray!

Let’s make this quick, I revealed a major bomb that Vick kept secret. How’d that make you feel?

Is Johnny no longer a dick in your eyes?

And how was the feel of this chapter? Did he make you feel emotions and junk like true books do?

And how about that kiss? *wink* *wink*

And now I’m rambling…probably shouldn’t have skipped dinner to finish this cause I’m seeing stars (and f.y.i there so pretty!)

Comment, I love em.

Vote, I need em.

Share, I welcome em.

Thanks for reading! And oh! We’ve reached 3oo+ votes! Woohoo! Keep em coming guys!

Writing for amazing readers like you is a joy and a pleasure!

~Ya Gal Vicky <3