Speak of the Devil.
World set: X-Men Universe.
Rating: M (+17)
Contains: Mature Language; Gruesome scenes & death; minor sexual/adult scenes and religious/philosophical based themes. If any of these are not your cup of tea, then I suggest you go for coffee.
Please note that this is an AU. some of the characters have been changed greatly and many of the canon events have been changed also.
Disclaimer: All characters seen in this story are the brainchildren of Marvel and its respective writers/designers. I do not have anything to do with the creation of these characters whatsoever. I've simply taken them and added some Reggae Reggae.
* italics will be used mostly to indicate the character's thoughts, however it could also be used to highlight a word or sentence. I was careful with the context, so I'm hoping it's clear enough in the story.
Chapter 1: The End.
††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††
"Everything has come through. Guardianship has been officially passed onto me," declared Mrs. Frost, as she gingerly placed the phone back onto the base. "Welcome to Xavier's School of Higher Learning."
Josh sat opposite her, his eyes filled with indignation in the form of bitter tears. He had barely been on the campus for an hour before he was escourted into an oaky office, and aloofly greeted by a tall blonde woman known as "Emma Frost."
He couldn't bring himself to even look at her in the eye. He was ashamed of who he was; what he was, and couldn't accept that this woman was anything else outside of a genetical mutation. He was just like her, and that thought sickened him to the core.
"It'll get better," she said, breaking the tangibile silence between them. "A lot of students dislike it at first, but they all agree that it's an uphill journey after they settle in."
Josh rolled his eyes. Why was everyone trying to tell him how he will feel? Does nobody care about how he currently feels? He decided not to dignify her advise with an answer, and instead, slouched further into the armchair. She seemed to notice his ailed expression, but did not comment on it.
"It'll take the staff a few hours to choose a room for you," she added briefly.
Choosing a room for me? Please, make it solitary confinement, for both our sakes.
"Incase you're wondering, we choose rooms based on compatibility. The last thing we want is two room-mates bickering all year long," said Emma, forcing a faint smile. "We rarely receive any complaints from room-mates after they're assigned, so I'm confident you'll be perfectly content with your room and your mate."
As he was about to ponder the possibility of locking himself in this room and just not coming out, he was interrupted by Emma's voice, which was now distinctivly louder and more enthusiastic.
"Ben! Come in here! We've got a new student! This is Joshua Foley - he's flown all the way from California to attend here."
Josh mentally gagged at the fact she made it sound as if he was willing to go to this mad-house.
A clonk was heard from outside the room - from the busy hall - as a student stopped himself mid-walk and turned to enter the office. Josh didn't bother to turn around, instead fixating on a swirly black spot etitched along side the formations of the dark walnut wooden floor.
"Aye, California, y'say?" said a voice from behind, "never had the pleasure." There was a strange inflection to the student's voice; he seemed to retain an accent which Josh couldn't immediately identify.
"Ben is originally from Scotland, which is almost as far away as California." Emma gushed, at a last attempt to break the mould with Joshua.
Try 1000 miles difference, you geographically challenged harlot.
Ben visibly shook at her ignorance before quickly straigtening his posture and clearing his throat. "Of course. Well mate," he proclaimed, taking a step toward Josh's side, "name's Ben. Pleased to meet'ya."
Josh looked up to examine his fellow student, only to be met with shock. Ben didn't appear to have any skin; his body was engulfed by a human-shaped aura of fire which flicked and dazzled under the light from the window behind.
The foundations of his body shone carmine red, while the further reaches of the flames boasted brighter orange. Darker shades of these colors defined his facial feautres, as the ever-moving fire danced around his body.
Josh couldn't see any hair, either; only a lick of flames which flicked upwards from the top of his head.
Ben extended a firey hand, oozing gamboge flares which mimicked the surface of the sun: miniscule ringlets of fire twirled from the base, catapulting themselves from different locations of his palm. The tips of his fingers were a stil de grain yellow, gently disappearing into a light conglomeration of weak flames and embers.
However, Josh saw no beauty in such a thing.
Ben's incandescent hand waited for Josh to reciprocate, but received no such gesture, causing Ben to lower it to his side with an apologetic gasp.
"Oh sorry, mate, I completely forgot to warn'ya. It doesn't hurt. I turn the heat on mahself; you won't feel a thing."
Josh glared up at him with a horrified expression.
"You turn the heat on?"
Ben smiled proudly. "Right! I can make it hot if y'want, mate, but I don't usually pull that trick until y'am friends with'em."
And that's something we will never be.
"R.. right." Josh stammered.
"Didn't mean to scare ya mate."
"You don't scare me."
"Then shake my hand. I told'ya, It wont harm'ya."
Josh scoffed, and turned his head away from the fiery mutant. "I wont take my chances on that one."
The familiar awkward silence arose from its sleep and drooped over them like an unwelcome fatigue.
Emma, desperate to mediate, spoke up again: "Ben, why don't you show Josh around the school? I'm sure he'd appreciate that. In the meantime, we'll get your room sorted and we'll let you know when it's ready for you."
With that, she ushered them out of the room with a relieved intake of air. After the door shut, she allowed herself to be inhaled by the armchair, gently positioning herself so that her head could lean on the headrest.
Josh was certainly one of the more difficult teenagers Emma's had to work with. Becoming the guardian of a student was not an outlandish occurrence to her, but she couldn't help think that there was an element of punishment to the parents decision to hand over their responsibilities. These kind of decisions aren't made lightly, yet, the Foleys were very quick to sign over their son. Josh's attitude began to make more sense; for a parent to rid their child so enthusiastically - as if they were subject to an expiration date - would certainly have a scarring effect on them. She concluded that life in Xaviers will not be easy for Joshua, and that she'd definitely see - or at least, hear of - the teenager again, sooner rather than later.
As her mind drifted away, she began to think about the bubble bath she'd have later, and sank a little further into the soft cushions of her armchair.
A day's work in the office.
††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††
Ben guided his agitated 'new friend,' down the halls of the school. Dark mahogany wood sprawled over the floor, giving the corridors a warm earthy essence. The walls wore a slick coating of wilmington tan and were decorated by historic portraits and paintings which Josh estimated to be worth as much as a few thousand each. Antique wall lights hanged ostentatiously from the gaps between the portraits. Josh then guessed that the building must be much older than it appears, which is why the décor stayed true to the establishment's age.
The crackling student lead Josh through the main doors of the school which opened up to a raised brick porticol that spread across the width of the building and was boardered by an array of steps that led to a glistening courtyard. A cobbled path at the end of the stairs cut through the grass, leading to the main gates.
Mature, wrinkled oak trees were sporadically located at different parts of the courtyard, while each curb flirted with the swaying petals of the flowers behind them. Despite his hatred toward the school and everyone in it, Josh could not deny the beauty before him. The sense of movement from the ambling group of students brought the entire courtyard to life, bounding the existence of nature and humans together.
.. Humans.
Bitterness and sadness hazed his thoughts as he began to ask himself how he could come to enjoy a place where such an obvious destitution of humanity existed. He looked up at Ben, who was busy reciting the school's ethos to him. He examined his skin, his body. There was no visible flesh, only darker shades of red which insinuated form. His eyes were a deep amber - a color Josh had never seen before – a color which appeared to transcend anything he had ever seen in the eyes of a human.
It was apparent to Josh that Ben retained very few 'human' characteristics at all. He had no skin; no hair and even his eye color seemed alien. How can anyone who fails to acquire such basic human attributes consider his or herself human?
If an animal can talk and walk like a human, is it a human? Or is it just an animal imitating a human? At what point does one 'gain' humanity? Or at what point does one 'lose,' it?
They were questions that churned in Josh's mind; questions that prevented him from accepting what happened; questions that disallowed him to prove his own humanity. Ultimately, these questions were the very things which kept him up at night.
Was he even a human?
He shuddered.
"Y'alright in thair?" asked Ben, lifting a firey muscle which appeared to be a brow.
"Y.. yeah. I'm fine. Go on."
A suspicious expression briefly crossed the ember's face but it subsided when Josh insisted he was listening.
Of course, he hadn't caught a word, but, Ben needed not know that.
Josh figured that the student wasn't stupid and was acutely aware that he wasn't catching a single word.
Josh's assumptions soon prooved true: Ben stopped speaking abruptly, and receivied neither a nod, nor any indication in the slightest, from Josh, to continue.
"Am just waiting for ya to ask me to go on, mate," sighed Ben, who tilted his neck to view his fellow student's face.
"It's okay if you're bored out yer mind, mate. Just tell me."
I'm not bored, just waiting for the most conveinient moment to get away from you.
"Is there food here? Where can I eat?" Josh asked neutrally.
Ben laughed and almost patted Josh on the solider endearingly before stopping himself. "It's not a prison, mate. The cafe is down the hall - past Ms. Frost's room – back the way we came. Ah was planning on meeting some mates there at 4 if y'ed like to come?"
Just kill me already.
"I don't want to go with you. I just want to go home."
Ben's heart dropped a little in sympathy for his fellow mutant. "Aye, mate. It's hard, ah know that. But lockin' yerself away or waitin' fer some hero to come'n save ya won't put food in yer belly. Come with me, eat somethin'."
If Josh was going to plan some kind of escape from the campus, he'd need to be in good shape and be well fed. He conceded that Ben was right, and reluctantly followed him to the café.
"So where'n California're ya from?" Ben asked, adjusting the straps of his bag as he turned to face the other mutant.
"Why do you care?" the Californian snapped, fixing his head so that Ben could not see his face.
"Just makin' conversation, mate."
"Make conversation with someone else."
"Can't. I was told to show you around."
I hereby relieve you of your duties.
"Fine. How much longer?" Josh sighed, exasperated with the small talk which Ben seemed to adore.
The flamed teen ignored his question, turning the corner and escourting Josh into a round cul-de-sac which was the cafeteria. The entire room was a checked glass dome, with 3 large oak-trees encircling it from outside. To the left, were the trays of food which served the student body. The entire dome was filled with students who sat at tables, which were desultorily scattered within the dome.
Ben indicated to follow, and lead Josh to the line of silver trays which boasted a selection of meats, vegetables and deserts.
"Food is good 'ere," Ben opined. "'cept when Harry's out; he's the best chef. The others get lazy when he's not 'round." He smiled, expecting to see Josh do the same, but was disappointed.
"You're a tough cookie to crack, mate."
"Then stop trying."
"Awk, just tryin' to be nice. We've all been in your place; we know what'yer going through."
Was everyone going to tell him that they knew what he was going through? Is it necessary for them to try and relate to him? His agitation intensified, and he brought himself to look at Ben in the eyes.
"Stop, just stop," Josh growled, pinching the gap between his eyes. "You don't know me; you have never known me, and you will never know me, okay? Can we make this clear? We are strangers and with any luck, it'll stay like that. So could you stop pretending to give a shit about me? Because frankly, I couldn't give a shit about you, or any other of these mutants in this god-forsaken hell hole, for that matter."
Ben was taken aback. Patience was innate in him, and rarely did he find it run slim, but, he found it hard to enshroud his irritation any longer, as Josh spat on his good nature.
The firey mutant took a deep breath, relishing the moment of 'not-yet-saying-anything.'
"Looks like y've got some issues, mate. I'd be lyin' if I said I was okay with that rant'v yours, but for your sake, I'm gonna count that as yer first – and last - need to lash out." He sighed and then craned his neck to view a table in the distance which he then pointed to. "See that table over there? Ah'll be there with some mates; when you decide to act like a normal human bein', come over to us."
Because you'd know all about human beings. Hilarious.
Josh huffed and turned to the trays of food. He could hear Ben's footsteps disappear into the gentle murmur of conversation from the students behind him.
The food did seem to be of good quality, even by his standards. But, did he want to eat anything that mutants had cooked? Was that even sanitary?
He remembered his maid, Dalores, and her wonderful baking. She'd cook the most crumbly oat cookies, only to follow them up with a rich, assortment of steaming cranberry and blackcurrent muffins. His mouth began to water at the thought.
"Move to the back if you can't decide," admonished the cafeteria man from behind the trays. "We don't got all day."
After Josh brought himself back to reality, his eyes peered down to the man's name tag.
So this is Harry. What a first impression.
The middle-aged man glared impatiently at him: his thick brow knitting together in light of Josh's decision to ignore him.
"Did you hear me? Move it, or I'll move you myself; there's hundreds of students to feed here."
Let them starve, all I care.
Without even acknowledging Harry's existence, Josh walked to the salad bar and threw some greens together onto a plate. This Hollywood diet wouldn't last much longer; at this rate, Josh was one outburst away from deep-frying the closest chocolate bar and gobbling it up in seconds. Again, his mouth watered.
The new student scoped the dome for a free seat; sitting alone seemed like a gift-wrapped opportunity, but an opportunity far too difficult to achieve based on the number of students who filled the chairs. He sighed, and ambled over to the table Ben had pointed to earlier. Much to his chagrin, a seat had been saved for him beside the glowing mutant.
Great.
As he sat himself on the chair, the stares of the others at the table began to surround him. Ben gave him a reassuring smile. "Are ya feelin' better mate?" He asked, alluding to Josh's recent outburst.
No.
"Yes."
"Good t'hear. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like y'to meet me friends." His hand waved towards the other three at the table, who were staring neutrally at him.
Josh's diaphragm crinkled when he realized that one of the girls at the table had .. wings. They resembled those of a butterfly: transparent and glittery, while hosting a network of neon blue veins which connected each and every reach together. They were longer than the girl herself, yet they seemed to tuck behind her neatly as she sat upright.
His eyes rolled towards the other male: his commonality surprised Josh, as he retained neither wings, nor an aura of fire. He boasted wavy black hair, which parted at his scalp above his left eyebrow and dropped with a swish over his right. The hair on the sides was cut around his ear, while the black locks undulated freely at the back of his head. Red and white headphones curled around his neck and Josh could hear the gentle beat of the music playing from the speakers.
The second girl, across the table, seemed to stare in his direction, but not quite at him.
He remembered what Blair told him: "A guilty mutant will never look at you in the eye."
The girl seemed to be of Asian descent, with jet-black hair, styled into a pixie cut. Despite her undistinguished clothes and hairstyle, her snowy eyes reflected the golden honey of his own, weeping rusted pain and unforgotten anguish.
He decided it was best to keep a particular distance from this one.
As her eyes fixed on him, Josh could feel her insecurities briefly influence the mood at the table, as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
The silence was broken by the winged girl, who extended a hand towards him and wore a warm – yet a tad nervous - smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Megan, what's your name? I'm 17 – nearly 18 – but that's not until Janruary. I'll be having a party for it, you know. You're welcome to come; I know what it's like to be new here, it's very hard to sett – "
"Josh," the new student interrupted coldly, not bothering to shake her hand.
"Josh. Right, hello Josh. Welcome to the school." She smiled awkwardly and giggled her anxiety away.
The male, beside the nervous butterfly-like student, was next to reach forward.
"Name's Mark."
Again, Josh apathetically stuck his nose up to the boy's hand, which made Mark shrug.
"Someone's not our biggest fan," he whispered to himself.
Josh, although clearly hearing the comment, decided to rise above the insult; this Mark was just a mere mutant after-all. Ben was determined to take over Emma's role as mediator and counterproductively began attempting to link common interests between the existing and new student.
"What kinda music d'you like, mate?" asked Ben, trying oh-so-hard to be sincere.
"Not of your concern."
"What about food?"
"Not of your concern."
"Places to visit?"
"Not of your concern!" Josh yelled, irratatedly rubbing his temples.
"Someone's got a pole up their ass," remarked Mark, who smiled audaciously towards Megan. Josh gritted his teeth and allowed his fingernails to blanche the soles of his hands. "Another comment like that and the pole will be down your throat," seethed Josh, who allowed his lip to tremble and lift as if he were a growling feral, ready to fight for it's survival.
"Ouch, you got me!" the wavy headed mutant derided, allowing his head to fall back in laughter. "As If I haven't been threatened like that before."
If others viewed Josh the way he viewed these animals, then solitary confinement would certainly become aspiration number one. They were acting exactly as Josh suspected: cheating, lying and rude. Blair was right; mutants cannot possibly co-exist alongside humans. Society could never function in such a state.
Josh would do anything to go back to those days, back to when he felt accepted, when Blair and the others welcomed him with open arms. He had never felt so sanguine during his time with them. But, after he was forced to leave, a little of piece of him remained there. The content, optimistic and acueilliant attitudes towards life - which he once retained - were overwritten by hatred, confusion and agony which spread to the very reaches of his humanity.
And here he was, being ridiculed by the same monstrosities that ruined his life.
"I'm not going to take this from you bastards," Josh roared, causing the boisterous conversations around them to gently hush and lull. Mark's lackadaisical demeanor was mangled by Josh's reaction, leaving him slighty flabbergasted.
Ben, on the otherhand, having reached his limit with the Hollywood teen, stood up and eyed Josh heatidely.
"Ah thaink you should leave mate," he said between gritted teeth, smoldering his rage.
"Easier done than said," Josh bit back, turning around and heading for the exit.
When the doors of the café closed, conversations began to pick up again, allowing Ben to unclench his firey fists and slouch back into his seat.
"A've seen new kids hate the school on their first day, but he, he's just somethin' else," Ben declared, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Either he really hates mutants, or he really needs a girlfriend. I can't decide which," Mark interjected, the color coming back into his cheeks.
Megan giggled, and then wiped her hands on her jeans. "He's definitely the grouchy type. I wonder what happened to make him hate mutants so much, especially, when he is one."
"Well the reason is obvious," Mark sighed, wearing the seeds of a smile.
"Is it?"
"Yeah. His girlfriend obvious nailed a mutant. Look at how he looked at us, he obviously has a chip on his shoulder."
Ben laughed away the remnants of his rage and turned to face Mark. "And just when ah thought you were gonna say somethin' intelligent."
"I say lots of intelligent things. I did just suss out our blonde friend in a matter of five seconds, didn't I?"
Ben placed an endearing arm around his friend, before gently turning on the heat of his flames, causing a sting to run down Mark's neck.
"Hey! You son of a –" he yelped, leaping to his feet.
"Just a wee somethin' to sharpen up those sussing skills," Ben cachinated.
"I hate you."
"Love y'too."
††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††
Joshua scurried outside, feeling a desperate need for fresh air. The dome had made him claustrophobic; something which contributed to his brash outburst.
He decided that if he was going to disappear from the campus, he'd need to stop stepping on peoples' feet and stay under the radar.
It had been so easy for him to lash out at his fellow school-mates; they tried to understand him and treat him like one of them, which, quite frankly, made him want to gag.
He promised himself that he'd never become "one of them," and that if he ever does have to be nice to someone, it would be because he's ultimately benefitting from them and not because he truly cares.
Getting out of this prison, was priority number one.
However, it was still his first day and he had made his name known to everyone in the cafeteria. It would most likely get back to Emma Frost, and as a result, she'll probably keep an extra eye on him.
If he wanted to get out, he'd need to be sly.
Deciding that he'd completed enough useless interaction with mutants, Josh spotted a thick, lumpy oaktree and cinched that he would seem less ominous if he looked like he was actually doing something, and not standing in the middle of the courtyard.
He approached it, and slid down the chipped wood, before adjusted himself so that he was nestled perfectly inside a hollow between the roots.
As the sun's rays pulsated onto his face, he tilted his head back and momentarily enjoyed the sensation of the peppery heat on his skin.
The sun was always something that Josh found comfort in. When his parents were working and Dalores was having a day off, Josh's lonliness would sometimes consume him. He had neither siblings; nor aunts; nor uncles, nor cousins to share his days with. Both his parents were only children, as was he.
Of course, having Dalores around always cheered him up, but she was a human, and a person who lived her own life, separate to the affairs and duties within the Foley household.
But, no matter what happened on this planet; even if the land were to be consumed by a sheet of ice, the sun would always be there. And when he - and the few people he knows - are long gone, the sun will continue to decorate the sky with its beauty and might. It is unnmoveable, infallible, and most importantly: unchangeable.
Change was something that picked up Josh's life, span it around, and allowed it to drop to its demise. His life with his parents – although sometimes desolate – was relatively tranquil. He seldom longed for a certain item or to go to a certain place: his parents' money always catered to that. The problem was that he felt as if he was simply a trophy belonging to his parents: he was the handsome, strong and intelligent son that every parent hoped their child would turn out like. Every parent in West Hollywood, that is.
In retrospect, it's clear to him that he was never more than a trophy. When family friends came over, he'd have to serve the drinks and the finger-food, while the guests gloated about their newest cars and finest jets. He was a method of boasting good-fortune and strong genes to these same people. His mother and father used him to ornament their titles as 'parents;' something he couldn't see back then. But, when he changed – when he turned into a mutant – they showed their true colors.
He recalled his mother's icy voice piercing him like an unchastened blade and his father's eyes leaking sorrow and sympathy, both of which were not directed at Josh, but at himself.
In that moment, he learned that nobody can be trusted: relationships are fickle and finite; everyone will look out for themselves – humans are flawed.
.. But
if humans are flawed, then why does he treat mutants with such disdain? Is there a measurement which determines who is 'more wrong?' It wasn't the mutants that shut him out, afterall; it was the humans.
His mind raced back to Mark's comments at the cafeteria.
"No," he grunted to himself.
Mutants are abominations; mutants are the very roaches which spread the disease of human imperfection. It is because of them do humans make mistakes: mutants are to blame for everything.
He squeezed his eyes tighter together and allowed himself to become lost in the tingles on his skin.
The sun had become significantly more intense since his arrival at the tree stump, which was something he welcomed.
As his conciousness began to eclipse behind his thoughts again, the sun's heat suddenly disappeared, and the light on his eye-lids dimmed.
Shaking his head and wiping away the colored spots that blurred his vision, Josh looked up to see a girl – around the same age – standing in front of him. Her blonde hair twirled around her solidiers and ended with gentle ringlets that curled into her dress. She wore white plimsolls which shone from the sun above. Her dress came to her thighs and was bound in the middle by a brown belt.
Josh was immediately stricken by her midnight blue eyes, which he momentarily became lost in, upon meeting her line of sight.
"You're going to burn, you know," she said with an easing tone. "I brought some sunblock with me when I came outside. You can borrow some if you'd like?"
Josh squinted his eyes and broke eye contact with her. "I'm fine," he mumbed.
"Suit yourself. I'm Laurie. Laurie Collins. I haven't seen your face around here before, are you new?"
"Yes."
"Are you from nearby?"
Nearby this dump? No way.
"No."
Laurie half smiled and kneeled down in front of him. He draged his legs closer to himself, creating a further distance between them.
"Are you from a different country?"
"No."
"Then I'll ask you again, are you from nearby?" she asked with a faint giggle.
"California. Look, do I know you?" Josh asked, trying his best to seem diplomatic, as of his 'stop bringing attention to yourself if you want to escape,' rule.
"Well unless you lived in Hartsdale, down the road, then I doubt it."
Josh's decorum began to deteriorate parallel to the advancements of her small talk.
Why do all you mutants have to make such pointless conversation?
"No, I can't say I every did live there. Look, Lauren or Laura, or whatever, I'm not really in the mood for people right now."
Laurie laughed inwardly, before smiling and standing to her feet. "First day, huh?"
You're getting dangerously close to the 'I know how you feel,' territory.
"Yes."
"Well, good luck with it, then."
Josh's face perked up with eureka, when he acknowledged that she didn't offer an insight into his feelings, nor try to relate to him, something of which everybody else felt the need to do.
"Congratulations, you win the medal for the least irritating person I've met so far" Josh accoladed.
Although taking back awards can be arranged.
Laurie knitted her brows. "Why? Who's been annoying you?"
Ooft, and you were doing so well.
Josh remembered his mission to stay under the radar.
"No-one in particular," he lied, bringing his hand to his blonde locks and tussling them.
"It's not like I'll tell anyone. I wouldn't want to think someone is picking on you," she said, making no efforts to hide her pertubed tone.
And I suppose I need you to stand up for me? You look mighty scary in those plimsolls.
"I'm fine. Could you leave me alone now? I'd rather be on my own," he reminded.
Laurie folded her arms across her white dress while her brows drew closer to her eyes. "Please, if someone is picking on you, it's ok. I know almost everyone in this school; I'd have no problems having a wor—"
"No!" Josh snapped, before instantly realizing that he now needed to save face, big time. "I mean, No .. thank you. Now could you please just leave me alone?"
and then surrender your award. Thanks.
Laurie fidgeted with her hands bunglingly before turning around and crossing the courtyard, back towards the school.
Josh sighed.
Once again, alone. Finally.
††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††
It had been three hours since Laurie had aquatinted herself with Josh. After he snapped at her, she strolled into the seniors common room and threw herself onto the sofa.
With a capacious yawn, she reached for the remote and flicked on the television. What would be on today? Yet another anti-mutant rant? Most probably.
With an exasperated sigh, she flicked off the television and slouched her head onto her fist. The events from earlier on plagued her mind. Was that kid being bullied?
Bullying was a rare thing in Xaviers. Mutants were discriminated enough by the 'humans,' so incessant internal conflicts were seldom seen amongst students.
But, one can never be too certain. For all she knows, everyone might dislike him because of how he looks or where he's from. She attempted to convince herself that bullying was not the issue at hand, and that this Josh was just a troubled soul, like many of the students at Xaviers who had been abused by humans.
Although, it was hard for Laurie to relate to 'anti human' behaviour. The public had never hurt her before, nor had they ever treated her differently. The reason being, was that she looked human. She didn't have skin altering powers like Ben, nor did she have wings like Megan. She could live free of scrutiny in society and no-one would ever know about her mutation.
She confirmed to herself that she'd rather be shot down by some maniac zealot, or a crazy red-neck before she'd live a lie. Laurie was proud of her powers. Although, she didn't deny that they caused her some anguish, they did nothing to permanently scar her, and without them, she wouldn't be the person she was today.
Yes, Laurie was proud to be a mutant, and made no bones about that.
She was one of a few students left who came to Xaviers as a freshman, and stayed until their final year. Most teens come in during their Sophmore year, as that is around the age of which the powers manifest. Even the others who came as freshmen alongside Laurie, many of them left at some time during the course of their schooling, because either their parents decided to take them back, or they simply escaped.
Emma does not treat the school like a detention camp, or a prison, either: if someone wishes to flee, they are free to do so, but she always warns them of the struggles they will face in the real world, especially those who live with a physical mutation.
A physical mutation
Laurie's mind shot back to that blonde kid, who seemed so distressed and agitated. She remembered that she asked him if he was being bullied.
.. And suddenly it hit Laurie like a thousand bricks.
She had asked a vulnerable person, a male, if they needed someone to stand up for them. She cringed as she imagined how she must have embarassed and belittled him; how she must've made him feel weak and deprecated of his masculinity.
A shudder ran up her spine at the thought, before she was hit by a pang of guilt. She knew she had to make things right, and in a split-second decision, she marched for the door.
She trecked through – the now empty - halls of the school and secretly crossed into the boy's wing of the dorms. She tip-toed down the halls before she spotted the dorm of interest.
Sliding up to room "103," she quietly tapped her nails on the door. "It's Laurie, open up," she whispered.
She heard a shuffle from behind the door, before the knob turned and Ben was standing – sleepy eyed- at the entrance. "Laur, Laurie? What're y'doing here?" he asked, his voice fuzzy with sleep.
"Sorry to wake you, but I need to ask you something," she responded.
Ben raised a wispy brow.
"S'alright," he sighed. "Ah don't expect many people t'be asleep this airrly," he replied, checking his watch and confirming that it was only 9pm. Laurie smiled.
"I need your connections. You know how you're 'principal's pet?' Could you go to Emma Frost's office and ask her which room that Josh guy was put into?"
"Josh?"
"You know," Laurie reminded, "that new guy with blonde hair."
"Oh, y'mean Josh."
"That's what I said isn't it?" She retorted, twitching her nose to the side. "Josh."
"Well, I happen to know his room number already since – Hey! I'm not the principal's pet!" Ben blurted, experiencing a delayed reaction to Laurie's recent label. The blonde girl laughed and grabbed his hand in good humor. "Okay, I apologize – I take it back. Now, which room is Josh in?"
"May ah ask why y'must know?"
"I was talking to him earlier and I said something that ticked him off, I'm just hoping to apologize," Laurie informed whole-heartedly.
Ben sighed again, as the events from the cafeteria invaded his mind. "Ah'd be irresponsible, Laurie, if ah didn't warn yeh against tha,'" he replied, his accent thicker than usual.
"Why?"
"There's somethin' wrong with'im Laur. Ah was showin'im around airlier and he made it very clear tha' he doesn'like mutants."
Laurie's eyebrows raised and she massaged her temple in a circular motion. "But, he is a mutant. That doesn't make any sense."
"You're right, it doesn', there's sumthin' strainge 'bout'im, Laur, I'd avoid'im like the plague."
"Noted," Laurie quipped with a quick smile. "But strange or not strange, I still need to apologize."
"Whatever y'say. But, don't say ah didn' warn'ya. He's upstairs in 266"
"You're the best," she countered, with a grin of pearly straight teeth. "And don't worry, I'm a big girl."
Ben rolled his eyes with a chuckle and gently closed the door. Laurie, on the other hand, began to creep up the stairs of the boy's wing and made her way to 266.
Ben had always been protective of Laurie. He was also one of the few students who remained since day one of his Freshman year. Every teacher adored him due to his soft voice and caring aura, plus, he had been there so long, they felt as if he was family. Laurie too, considered Ben to be the closest thing she had to an older brother; she shared her troubles with him and he always knew what to say to cheer her up.
However, as Laurie grew older, Ben never let go of his protective ways: always looking out for her and making sure she was as comfortable as possible.
Laurie knew that Ben would never let her out of his sight and that the only time he wasn't looking out for her, was when she was at home with her mother. Ben feared that someone, someday, would abuse Laurie's good nature and pure kindness. He feared to see her hardened and scared by the hardships and injustices of life and thus continued to do everything in his power to shelter her from that.
As Laurie approached room 266, she gathered her thoughts and decided on what she wanted to say. She needed to be clear; she needed to be apologetic and she needed to let him know that she wasn't trying to patronize him by offering her aid.
She knocked on the door.
There was nothing from inside. Her confidence renewed, and she knocked again, but this time, distinctively louder than the last.
When she was about to go for lucky number 3, her fist met air as the door swayed open and exposed Josh, who stared back at her with a puzzled expression.
"Erm, yes?" he asked, illustrating his shear flusterment.
"Hi, do you remember me from earlier?" she asked back, hoping to wean the conversation slowly towards her apology.
"Yes. Laurie, wasn't it?"
"That's me."
A silence befell them, and Laurie awkwardly began intertwining her fingers.
"Can I help you?" he asked, his voice like a mellifluous melody, banishing the silence that draped over them.
Laurie brought her hands back to her sides.
"Yes, I was just hoping to apologize .. for earlier," she atoned, breaking eye contact with her fellow student. "I didn't mean to put you down, or make you feel weak, I was just concerned."
"What're you talking about?" he asked, genuinly dumbfounded.
"Oh, I.." She began to trip over her thoughts. She hadn't insulted him? He didn't think that she had patronized him? Laurie was pleasantly surprised, while a little humiliated at the same time.
"I thought that when I offered my help in finding whoever it was who bullyi- erm, irritated you, that I had insulted you: made you feel incapable. That really wasn't my intention. I was just genuinly bothered that someone would pick on a new student, that's all." She took a deep breathe and tilted her head up slightly.
Had she been human, Josh would've smiled.
"I wasn't insulted, just tired from a long day and wasn't in the mood for small talk," he explained truthfully, with his plan to leave the campus not-with-standing.
"Right. Makes perfect sense. Sorry for jumping the gun."
"It's ok. Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get some sleep."
Laurie expected he'd try to dismiss her at his earliest convenience, however, she did not come all the way only to humiliate herself and then get a door slammed in her face. She had the spine to apologize for her previous untactful questions, to someone she barely knew, and to his face. She was not going to skip merely back to her room, only to wrap herself up in her coverlets and await for sleep to claim her.
"Have you fully unpacked?" she asked, ignoring his request.
"Mostly," he lied, blocking the scene behind him as best he could.
Laurie craned her neck and spotted mountains of clothes and belongings on the floor and bed.
"So all of that stuff belongs to your room-mate?"
"No, well, I –" Josh stammered, knowing he had been caught red handed.
"I'll help you clear it up. It's no problem. I used to help the Freshmen unpack their stuff when they arrived. I'm pretty used to it."
Before Josh could deny her entry, Laurie pushed past him and marched freely into his dorm. She glanced down at the hills of designer clothing which were tossed into corners - nothing more than dust gatherers.
His belongings were scattered around the room, some of which had found themselves in the bathroom and ontop of the television and radio.
"You really H-bombed this one," she chuckled.
Josh's face remained neutral, as he began gathering items which he didn't want her to see. Laurie - acutely aware - decided to do the courteous thing and turn around, and let him off the hook.
"Can I start folding this pile?" she asked, indicating to the summit of a dozen shirts which were stacked on top of each other. Josh nodded and turned to his shelf and began organizing his belongings on it.
"You've got some nice shirts," admired Laurie, as she folded a red one and placed it neatly on the desk. Josh remained quiet and continued to shuffle objects from one level of the shelf to the other.
Laurie noticed that he wasn't actually organizing anything, but was simply moving objects from shelf to shelf.
It was clear that he was uncomfortable in her presence: a realization which shook Laurie a little. Was she an intimidating person? Was she scaring him?
"You can leave, you know," she stated, folding another shirt. "Nobody is keeping you here. I know it feels like you're trapped here, but Emma doesn't run a slave business. if you want to run, you can run and no-body will stop you."
Josh seized, before eerily turning to face Laurie. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked darkly.
"Because it's wrong to hold someone against their will," she replied matter-of-factly. "If you don't like it, you can always leave, but I should warn you: I doubt you'd survive three days in the public."
"And why's that?" Josh hissed, angry that she would make assumptions based on his capabilities.
"Because of your skin," she snapped back, keeping her voice stern. "You'd stick out like a sore thumb."
Josh's fists clenched and the muscles in his jaw tensed. "Don't try and predict my fate, as if you know me, mutant."
"I never predicted anything, nor implied that I knew you," Laurie replied, with a more neutral, quieter tone.
"Then why are you here helping me unpack, if you don't know me?"
A pensive expression befell Laurie's face, as she considered his question.
"Because," she said, stopping briefly as she gathered her thoughts. "Because, you haven't asked me to leave yet."
Her words zapped away any form of a retaliation that he had on the tip of his tongue. The blonde deflated, and then shrugged. It was on him, afterall: she had completely laced the ball into his court.
She folded the last of his T-shirts before standing to her feet. "It's getting late, I should probably get back to my dorm before the night-staff send out a search party."
She turned in his direction and gave a warm smile.
Josh nodded, and examined the cleared space in the corner, where Laurie had folded his shirts. "I'll come back and help tomorrow, if you'd like," she offered.
Josh ignored her and turned back to his shelf. He didn't have anything prepared to say, until he remembered a thought that ran through his head earlier:
"if he ever does have to be nice to someone, it would be because he's ultimately benefitting from them and not because he truly cares."
He turned around and glanced at the door, of which Laurie was headed. "I'd like that," he mumbled, hiding the bitter disgust in his voice. "I've got a lot to clear and could use some help."
Laurie, feeling like 'The Good Samaritan,' nodded and twisted the knob.
When it shut behind her, she sighed with relief. Thankfully, he was not offended by her earlier comments. Also, she got to be the one to put him at a little ease and tell him that wether he remains in Xavier's, is one hundred percent, his choice.
She got the impression that the reason his temper was so easily lost, was because he felt trapped; kicking and screaming were the last things that made any sense to him.
As she walked down the hall, she passed a vending machine which seemed to stick out a little further that usual.
"You can come out, Ben," she commented, before continuing down the hall.
The firey mutant slid out from behind the machine with a sigh of relief: "Couldn't let'ya go in there completleh alone," he replied.
Laurie smiled, and stopped in her tracks. She should've known that he'd follow her. After his experience with Josh, her security came into question the second she marched into his dorm. Well, as far as Ben was concerned.
"He's harmless, you know," she whispered, remembering that she's not supposed to be in the boy's wing of the dorms.
"Y'don't know that Laur. Ah couldn't risk'im lashin' out at'ya."
Laurie smiled faintly. Did she need to be protected where ever she went? Would Ben ever realize that she's not a child anymore?
"I'm pretty capable, Ben. I know you're just looking out for me, but I don't need protecting."
"S'not you ah I don't trust, Laur," he sighed, wiping his flamed forehead, "s'otha people."
In the years she'd known Ben, she could not deny that he had more exposure to the public than she had. When she didn't have him around, she had her mother, and as a result, was sheltered from the injustices that plagued the mutant population. Ben knew what it was like: he knew how it felt to have a five-year old throw a rock at him and scream: "Go'way, dirty mutant;" he knew the look that everyone on the streets gave him when he walked by; he knew the feeling of dejection that society continually and openly instigates. He knew these feelings; he knew how they would taint Laurie's innocence and chew at very fibers of hope in her heart. He knew this, because he was once like her: pure and unspoiled. The best times in his life, were his care-free days, when was just a Freshman at the school.
Laurie knew that Ben had good reasons - albeit, personal reasons - to protect her, but even she didn't know how far deep her well-being and safety was branded into Ben's priorities. She reminded him of himself, before his hope and optimism was neutralized by society's hatred. By preserving Laurie's innocence, in some ways, he was preserving the remnants of his own.
Yet, Laurie would remain unbeknownst to the true whys of Ben's protection of her. And that's the way Ben let it remain.
"I'm a big girl now, Ben. I'm a big girl."
††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††
And there's chapter 1! I really hope you guys liked it. I welcome every bit of feedback there is to offer. Feel free to PM me with suggestions, thoughts, questions, you name it.