Disclaimer

Story is set in a slight AU between X1 and X2. Characters you recognize from the movies or comics belong to Marvel. I am borrowing without permission, but I hope that my head won't be ripped off because of it.

Please read and review. English is not my first language, so if you have any pointers, please share.

THE GIRL WITH THE SAD EYES

Logan watched the girl as she sat underneath the tall oak in the back of the mansion that was "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters". She had arrived the week before, but unlike most of the other kids, she didn't warm up to being around others. They had all been briefed about her. Her powers weren't out there like with so many others. To the untrained eye, she didn't look any more different than the average human.

Her skin was fair, her hair reached the middle of her back and depending on the light, shone in shades of brown, mahogany and gold. She was just about 5'6 in height with glasses perched on her nose that seemed to be perfect for the shape of her face. Her build was a bit on the heavy side but with a hourglass figure. She really was far from being a kid, though compared to Logan, even the Professor was a youngster. She was 31 and had powers that could kill.

They had been told that the color of her eyes would change with her mood. But he had yet to experience any feelings from her nor see the color of her eyes. Her powers were strong according to the Professor. She possessed the ability to make others feel extreme sadness, sadness so great they would wither and give up on life or turn to suicide and because of this, she kept her distance.

She had been living on the street for most of her life when the Professor was able to pick up on her by using "Cerebro". Her powers had manifested earlier than with most youngsters and it had resulted in her fathers death when she was but five years old. Her mother, a mutant herself and fully aware of her daughters powers, did her best to protect herself and her daughter, but when the girl turned ten, her mother tragically died after a hit and run incident. The girl blamed herself.

The girl was put in foster care but eventually ran away after resulting in her foster parents' deaths. Whenever her own feelings would become unstable, her guard would drop and her powers affected those close to her wether she knew them or not and wether she cared about them or not.

Logan sniffed the air as he stepped outside the mansion. It was late spring. The air still had the crispness of winter in it, but the sun warmed as if summer was just around the corner. He had always enjoyed springtime. Everything seemed new and fresh. He loved the smell of dirt as it let go of the last of winters frost and relished it even more when Ororo or Jean would lecture kids about running into the mansion with dirt covered boots and shoes and drag muck all over the floors.

Of course, several of the students had mentioned his cigars kind of ruined the magic of spring, but he wasn't the one to give up his bad habits. If anything, such remarks made him embrace said habits even more. He couldn't help but smirk as he lit a cigar earning cringes and scowls from some of the older students. Strangely, some of the younger students actually looked up to him and seemed to adopt certain habits much to Ororo's frustration.

He kept his eyes fixed on the young woman in front of him. She had her nose buried in a book. A thick book he noticed, the kind that would give most people a headache just by the thought of it. The kind of book that most likely would be turned into a movie if it hadn't already.

"She is fascinating, is she not?" He glanced over his shoulder as he heard Jean's soft voice.

"Who?" Logan looked at her and she nodded towards the woman underneath the tree.

"You know who I mean," she smiled and let her hand come to rest on his shoulder as he stepped back a little, crossing his arms in front of him.

"She is new here, don't know her..." he gruffly answered taking his cigar and stumping it against the porch pillar. She wrinkled her nose and scowled lightly at this, but didn't comment on it. She knew better than to talk to a brick wall.

"The Professor told me not to go poking around her head," she cautiously muttered under her breath.

"Well it would be best if you stayed out of everybody's heads, wouldn't it?" He flicked the cigar stump down into the flowerbed before smirking at her and pointing to his own head. She had poked around in there one time to many only to end up flustered and embarrassed. He could sense it whenever she was poking around. When he first had come to the school together with Marie, she had been in his head almost every day. He found her attractive just as she did him, but she was Scooter's girl so they left it at that.

"Yes...," she looked at him. "But that doesn't mean its as easy as it sounds," she admitted and let go of his shoulder.

"You know I know all to well..." he drifted off and glanced back towards the tree. The woman was gone and his brow furrowed in realization.

"Do you think her powers are as bad as the Professor told us?" Jean looked at Logan.

"I think you of all people should know the answer to that, Red," he snapped back. She was a bit taken aback by his sudden snap, but she knew he was right. She definitely knew better than to question the Professor.

"Well... classes await..." she drifted off before turning around and walking off. He shrugged. If she had been hurt by his comment, he really didn't care.

—

Maeve had noticed the scruffy looking man staring at her over the top of her book, but she had decided against acknowledging him. It was better to keep people at a safe distance than to engage in conversation. It was far too easy to loose track of what was going on and once things started spiraling and she lost control of her own feelings, things would definitely become intense for those around her.

To say that she enjoyed her solitude, would be a lie, but over the years she had found her powers easier to cope with when she was alone. The Professor had approached her with a promise to help her the year before and since then he would contact her and try to convince her to come to the school. The school for the gifted... She had stared at him in disbelief the first time she spoke with him. How could he see her power as a gift? The Professor had always showed up in person whenever he would try to reach out to her. He would "sit down" next to her as if nothing was wrong with her at all, which, in a way, fascinated her. How could someone who knew how dangerous she could be, be so unafraid of the consequences?

She sighed and let her book drop to her lap. She hadn't really been paying attention to what she had been reading. It was more an excuse to keep to herself. She hadn't spoken to anyone but the Professor since she arrived. She had only nodded when she was introduced to the staff and some of the older students. They seemed like a well put together team. Sure, there was tension between some of them, but then again everyone was living under the same roof. She had to stifle a laugh as she thought about it. The Professor was like a father to several of the people who lived at the school, student or grown up, they were all one big family despite their differences... But unlike with "normal" families, the students didn't "leave home" when they reached adulthood. Many stayed on as teachers or lived nearby only to come by the school every day wether it was for work or just to hang out.

She stared up at the clear blue sky through branches that barely showed sign of green leaves and tried t real her body. She felt tense even though she was by herself. She felt out of place and unable to find rest. Had it been because of the man staring at her? Why had he been staring? She had to admit to herself that he was easy on the eye in a scruffy looking way. She had been living on the streets long enough to know that men stared and those who did often had other motives than staring. Because of this she felt more uneasy around the other sex than she did when around women.

She felt herself get lost in thought and simply sat there staring at the sky. The Professor told her that this could be her home, but it felt far from it. She sighed and closed her eyes. She would give it a shot. She would try. She would try even if it felt impossible.

—

Logan had been put in charge of self defense classes. He hated teaching, but he knew how important it was for everyone there to know how to defend themselves. He had been put in charge of the teenagers, who he hated above everyone else. Since when did teenagers ever do as they were told? He snarled at a couple of the kids who were messing around and barked orders at them. They jumped when he raised his voice. Even though they sure as hell did not feel like being in class, they knew not to piss "the Wolverine" off. Most of the older kids and teenagers had witnessed firsthand what the man was able to do. Some had even seen him impale Marie on his adamantium claws. If someone did manage to piss him off, they knew fully well what was in store. He had more than once made them do laps or do chores around school as punishment.

He smiled to himself as the students one by one managed to tackle each other to the ground. They had been practicing catching their opponent off guard. They learned quickly. Maybe too quickly? He watched them and gave them pointers every once in a while. Most mutant kids had to grow up way too quickly. Many were mentally scarred by the time they were brought to the school. Scarred because of parents pushing them away once they developed their powers or because they had accidentally hurt someone in a fit of rage. Several of the kids had bottled up anger that was being addressed in sessions with Jean or the Professor. Some even had to learn how to act human once more.

Logan marveled at how different the mutant powers could be. Telepathic and telekinetic powers. Some had super strength or could control elements. There were shapeshifters and there were those who simply had eyes that looked lizard like. Some kids knew fully well how to control their powers, others had just discovered them. All in all, they were one big dysfunctional functional family.

He dismissed the class when he saw them drop to the ground one by one. He had a tendency to take things a bit too far at times and many of the kids dreaded his classes, but in the end self defense was something everyone would benefit from. The students knew fully well what waited for them outside school grounds. There had been demonstrations demanding mutants to register. There had been talk about chipping them to keep them under control. There had been talk of mutant experiments to suppress the X gene. Logan felt his anger rise just by the thought of it. He, himself, was a result of a mutant experiment. He was a military weapon.

He grabbed the towel he had brought with him and wiped sweat off his forehead. He hadn't fought back nearly as hard as the students did when he once in a while would spar with them, but he had worked up a light sweat and looked forward to taking a nice warm shower and resting for the rest of the evening. He started towards the mansion when he noticed the woman looking in his direction. He couldn't read the expression on her face, but he nodded his head in her direction as a greeting og sorts. She nodded her head back before turning back to whatever it was she was doing. Had she been out there all day with that book? He couldn't remember seeing her at lunch or dinner. Did she even eat? He had heard of mutants who could go for months without eating...

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