X-2 Fanfic: Dreamers Die Young
By: Aran Tera
Chapter 1
Riley Benarro glanced at her alarm clock and cussed, rolling off her bed to hit the floor. She groaned and struggled upright, foisting the clingy blankets off her. Pulling on a pair of capris and an overly large t- shirt, she grabbed her backpack and bounced down the stairs. She bid good- bye to the person in the kitchen, she really didn't see who it was, and ran to the bus stop, hoping to catch the giant yellow monstrosity before it left the stop. It was just pulling away when Riley came up and her friend, Cail Hoff, stopped the bus before it got too far down the street. She slid on the bus and took a seat across the aisle from Cail.
"You almost missed the bus again," he said accusingly, his pale blue eyes shining with mirth. "This is the second time this week and the who knows how manyeth time this month," he told her, using another made up word.
Cail was an inventor. He was always coming up with his own words when real ones didn't suit his purpose and he had a basement full of things the FBI would love to investigate. His mind was always coming up with something new and consequently, he was always falling behind in his classes. Riley, of course, was no help at all.
She too, was failing almost every class, but not because of lack of interest. She just couldn't get the material. Even if she spent every waking moment studying the text and notes, it all fell out of her head before classes. She hated how that happened, but her teachers, for some odd reason, would never give her an F on anything. No matter how horribly she did, she would receive a D or a D-. It confused her to no end but if she didn't fail high school, her foster parents had told her that she didn't have to go to college and that it was her decision.
"Not my fault," Riley told Cail. "Damn alarm clock didn't go off when it was supposed to and I had another one of those dreams." Cail's eyebrows went up; he was interested.
"And?" he prompted.
"Not now. People," she said, jerking her head towards the back of the bus where the popular kids sat, swapping jokes and laughing up a storm. Cail rolled his eyes but obligingly didn't say anything once they were well off the bus and out of earshot of anyone else.
"So?" he asked.
"So I had another crazy dream, what's to know?" Riley snapped, semi- irritated. Cail blinked and held his hands up defensively.
"Just wanted to see if I could help," he said, walking towards the double doors leading into the school. Riley immediately felt bad for him, and hurried to catch up.
"Hey, Cail. Listen, I'm sorry about that. I'm just a little on edge today. Things aren't going very smooth over at the Benarro's." Cail gave her a sympathetic grin, but continued walking.
"Hey, come on, Cail. Don't start this again," Riley pleaded, holding the door closed. The last time he had walked away like that, it had resulted in a 2-week battle of sorts, ending with the two begin on edge for a while afterwards. They had promised not to let it happen again, but here it was, about to show up again.
"Remember last time? Don't do this to me. You, and you alone, know me. I can't lose that." Cail turned to face her, confusion in his eyes.
"No one knows you, Riley. You don't let anyone." He brushed past her, forcing her grip on the door to slacken and lurched into the school. She stared after him, disbelieving that something as trivial as a dream could upset their friendship so much. For a second, she considered shouting after him or running up and telling him she was sorry, but after all, she decided, it was his choice to get worked up about something this stupid. It was just a dream for Pete's sake.
[AN: Be patient, readers, this will speed up, I just decided it was wise to introduce characters first before I got to the mutation. Next chapter should be up in a couple days, bug me if you want it sooner!]
By: Aran Tera
Chapter 1
Riley Benarro glanced at her alarm clock and cussed, rolling off her bed to hit the floor. She groaned and struggled upright, foisting the clingy blankets off her. Pulling on a pair of capris and an overly large t- shirt, she grabbed her backpack and bounced down the stairs. She bid good- bye to the person in the kitchen, she really didn't see who it was, and ran to the bus stop, hoping to catch the giant yellow monstrosity before it left the stop. It was just pulling away when Riley came up and her friend, Cail Hoff, stopped the bus before it got too far down the street. She slid on the bus and took a seat across the aisle from Cail.
"You almost missed the bus again," he said accusingly, his pale blue eyes shining with mirth. "This is the second time this week and the who knows how manyeth time this month," he told her, using another made up word.
Cail was an inventor. He was always coming up with his own words when real ones didn't suit his purpose and he had a basement full of things the FBI would love to investigate. His mind was always coming up with something new and consequently, he was always falling behind in his classes. Riley, of course, was no help at all.
She too, was failing almost every class, but not because of lack of interest. She just couldn't get the material. Even if she spent every waking moment studying the text and notes, it all fell out of her head before classes. She hated how that happened, but her teachers, for some odd reason, would never give her an F on anything. No matter how horribly she did, she would receive a D or a D-. It confused her to no end but if she didn't fail high school, her foster parents had told her that she didn't have to go to college and that it was her decision.
"Not my fault," Riley told Cail. "Damn alarm clock didn't go off when it was supposed to and I had another one of those dreams." Cail's eyebrows went up; he was interested.
"And?" he prompted.
"Not now. People," she said, jerking her head towards the back of the bus where the popular kids sat, swapping jokes and laughing up a storm. Cail rolled his eyes but obligingly didn't say anything once they were well off the bus and out of earshot of anyone else.
"So?" he asked.
"So I had another crazy dream, what's to know?" Riley snapped, semi- irritated. Cail blinked and held his hands up defensively.
"Just wanted to see if I could help," he said, walking towards the double doors leading into the school. Riley immediately felt bad for him, and hurried to catch up.
"Hey, Cail. Listen, I'm sorry about that. I'm just a little on edge today. Things aren't going very smooth over at the Benarro's." Cail gave her a sympathetic grin, but continued walking.
"Hey, come on, Cail. Don't start this again," Riley pleaded, holding the door closed. The last time he had walked away like that, it had resulted in a 2-week battle of sorts, ending with the two begin on edge for a while afterwards. They had promised not to let it happen again, but here it was, about to show up again.
"Remember last time? Don't do this to me. You, and you alone, know me. I can't lose that." Cail turned to face her, confusion in his eyes.
"No one knows you, Riley. You don't let anyone." He brushed past her, forcing her grip on the door to slacken and lurched into the school. She stared after him, disbelieving that something as trivial as a dream could upset their friendship so much. For a second, she considered shouting after him or running up and telling him she was sorry, but after all, she decided, it was his choice to get worked up about something this stupid. It was just a dream for Pete's sake.
[AN: Be patient, readers, this will speed up, I just decided it was wise to introduce characters first before I got to the mutation. Next chapter should be up in a couple days, bug me if you want it sooner!]