Stumbling Along the Path
"Does it ever wake you in the middle of the night?" Erik asked, "The feeling that one day, they'll come for you? And your children?"
Xavier wheeled around, "I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to my school looking for trouble."
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or universe. They belong to Marvel and FOX Studio.
"Let go, Jean!" The words echoed in her head as she sprung up from bed. Her room was shaking as if an earthquake was taking place, but soon a hand found hers and everything slowed and then stopped.
"Another bad dream?" She heard in her head as her eyes soon adjusted to the dark to see Professor Xavier sitting on the edge of her bed.
"No, not a dream. A memory. I still haven't shaken everything from Egypt. I keep seeing the fire and feeling out of control. I'm still afraid. I don't want to hurt anyone." She whispered as a tear rolled down her face.
"Now now, my child, it is all over. Remember what I said, one day you will gain control of all of this, and you will look back on all of this and your fears will be far behind you." He reached up and wiped the tear away.
She nodded and laid back down and inched the blankets up around her. She closed her eyes and was met with just the darkness behind her eyelids, no fire. She silenced the thoughts around her and soon found herself in a more restful sleep with the help of the Professor.
Scott looked out his door as the Professor wheeled himself out from the room across from his own. He had only been here a week and yet this had become the new normal. He missed his sleep habit, but he also knew he wouldn't be asleep anyway. He, too, had not been able to sleep since everything had happened between losing Alex and nearly dying in Egypt and witnessing something amazing yet terrifying ignite in Jean.
All of it was a lot to swallow. So he stayed up watching late night talk shows and flipping channels. He would doze off for minutes, long enough to keep him awake for the next 24 hours. He had no idea how he was managing to balance his classes and danger room practices on his sleep schedule. He wondered if Ororo slept any. He knew Jean sure as hell wasn't.
"Can I help you with anything Scott?" The Professor asked, looking at Scott standing awkwardly in the door way silently.
"Oh." Scott snapped out of his train of thought, realizing he had been standing there staring off into space for a while now.
"Sorry. No. I was just worried about Jean. Is she okay?" He felt like that was a loaded question but it slipped out of his mouth like word vomit.
"She will be alright. You look exhausted. You should try to get some rest, Scott. Morning will be upon sooner than you realize. Not sleeping will not help things." He said, resting a hand on Scott's arm to comfort him.
"I know. I think we are all a bit afraid to close our eyes at night anymore, I mean, after everything that happened. Pretty scary stuff." He said before yawning.
"It is all over now. The worst, I believe, is behind us now. Whatever may happen, we will be prepared for next time. Rest easy knowing that." And with that Scott felt a rush of comfort flood over him and with that the weight of just how tired he really was finally hit him.
"Thank you, Professor." He yawned. He turned around and quietly shut the door behind him.
His hand rested on the iron door knob and closed his eyes and sighed. He knew the professor was right, and he knew that when he closed his eyes it would be alright.
He took his shirt off and tossed it onto the small desk next to his bed before climbing into the bed. It was more rigid than his own. He thought to himself that maybe if he had slept in it more that he would have gotten used to it by now, but his lack of sleep had made the bed feel like rocks in his back. His hands went up to take off his glasses but stopped and froze just inches from his face. He decided not this time and his hands found the covers of his bed and he shoved them down.
He stuck his feet out from the end of the covers because it was too warm with them covered up. His hand found the underside of his pillow and he turned onto his side squeezing his eyes tightly closed as he began to count and let his mind wonder. It wasn't long before he was out like a light and a soft snore escaped his lips.
Meanwhile Ororo had not adjusted to the American time schedule and was wide awake as well. Unlike the others she had escaped out her window and had found herself sitting in the garden the resided outside her room.
The plants that grew in New York were different from the plants the grew in Cairo. She was used to seeing Tamarisk in the deserts of Cairo but the vegetation here was much different. She wasn't sure what the shrubberies here were but they looked as if they could use some water. She waved her hand over her head carelessly and the rain began to pour.
Despite the rain all around her, it did not touch her. Occasionally it splashed back onto her feet from the ground. Her toes curled as the cold water touched her feet, it sent a cold chill up her spine. Her hands wrapped around her arms to stop her shivering. She hadn't felt a chill like that in quite some time.
The last time had been the second she realized she was on the wrong side in Cairo as Apocalypse had hurt the people she thought he had cared about. She shook the image from her head as she realized her concentration had dropped and the rain had begun to pour on her as well. She flew back up to her window and opened it with a creak. She cringed at the sound but crept back into her room silently.
Her room was much nicer here than anything she had in Cairo. She was grateful but it still felt odd to her. She was used to the heat, and New York was much colder than anything she had experienced. The Professor had been nice enough to give her an extra blanket. She wasn't used to people giving her something without expecting something in return but at the same time, she felt she could trust him, like he really cared. She wanted to believe that.
She pulled off all her wet clothes and put them in her bag as she exchanged them for a dry pair of shorts and tank top. Not exactly clothes fit for New York. But she had not had a chance yet to exchange her pounds for American coin yet.
She slipped into her dry clothes and shivered again, her thoughts trailed off to Kurt and Peter as she slipped into her bed. It was much nicer than her old bed. She had never slept better than she had in this bed, despite everything that had happened. She was appreciative. She closed her eyes, not even realizing she had not shut her window.
As the rain came in through the window and the drips could be heard, it lulled her into a deep sleep.
The Professor had made it back to his hall finally without being stopped by Hank. He sighed a sigh of relief for the moment to himself as he thought to his new students and their training. Summer had just begun and even though some of their lessons would be put on hold till August, there was still much to work on. They were so young, and already the world feared and hated them. He knew it would not be long before they would come for his students and for other young mutants, they needed to be ready. After all, sharing the world had never been humanities defining attribute.