Ignite
Chapter One: The Beginning of Forever
Scrtch Scrtch
The sound of pencils gliding against sheets of paper filled the air as a pair of almost brown eyes fleeted around the room, making sure that all eyes were pasted to their own tests. A hand slowly raised itself into the air as a woman in a white blouse and dark jeans stood up, walking towards the desk in the corner of the rather large classroom. The heel of her black shoes clicked
"Um, Ms. Min?"
"What can I do for you?" Lily Min smiled down at her student as the boy looked up at her with a weak smile, his expression telling all.
"I'm really confused on how you're supposed to classify matter." Lily glanced down at the paper sitting before the boy and sighed, a frown on her face.
"You know, I can't actually tell you how to do it," she reminded him as little Eric shook his head. He gave the woman a small smile and sighed.
"Right." The twenty-two year old frowned at the sight of defeat in her student's eyes and thought for a moment. A gleam appeared in her eyes in a blink of a second as she began to walk away.
"But, if you want to maybe glance at your study guide, for a minute only, my back may be turned." Eric's eyes brightened at the woman as she smiled back at him and winked. She turned and slowly began to walk back towards her desk, glancing at other student's to see the progress. She glanced back at Eric and saw his study guide gone and a confident expression now on his face. She smiled softly, feeling a bit relieved and sat back down at her desk.
Teaching at one of New York's most accomplished schools is something Lily really took pride in. She was only twenty-two, which said something about her skills as a teacher and in science. She was always ambitious when it came to what she loved doing and she was always confident in herself as well.
She smiled at the picture sitting on her desk and sat up, holding the frame in her hands. 'Man, do I miss you guys,' she thought as she stared down at the picture of Susan, Reed, Ben, and herself. She softly chuckled as she set the picture back down on the desk. Because of the fact Lily has been so busy with teaching at the school, she hadn't been able to really keep up with meeting her favorite people, though they all lived only a matter of a half-hour car drive away from one another.
Lily closed her eyes as she leaned back against her chair and thought about her old life, back when she was just a mere child. She smiled at nothing in particular and sat back up, receiving a few finished tests. As she looked them over, her eyes widened, a loud vibrating noise filling the room. The students all looked up at their teacher as Lily smiled weakly back at them. She quickly pulled her phone from her pocket and smiled to herself, standing to her feet.
"Alright guys, I'm going to take this outside. If I catch any of you cheating, you know what will happen," she warned as the students nodded at her, turning their full attention back to the test. She walked out of the room, quickly flipping her cell phone open.
"Ben! How did the meeting go?" she asked, her heart beating like a stick against a drum. She waited, receiving nothing but silence from the other end of the phone. She frowned as she leaned against the wall.
"Ben?" She waited again, no answer, and glanced at the screen of her phone to see the connection perfect.
"Ben? What happened?" she asked almost a bit frantically. Suddenly laughter came from the other end of the line as Lily growled quietly, an irritated expression appearing on her face.
"Really, Ben? I was actually worried!" she snapped as Ben laughed more. He sighed as Lily smiled softly, shaking her head.
"Sorry, I just couldn't resist," he explained as the young woman chuckled softly, shaking her head.
"So really, how did the meeting go?"
"It went better than I thought it would," Ben started as Lily listened, glancing into the window of her classroom.
"Is the deal on?"
"Yeah, Mr. Egghead decided to take Reed's offer."
"That's great!" Lily said happily. She raised an eyebrow as she received not such a happy answer from Ben.
"Well, it's alright, I guess."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, confusion audible in her voice. Ben sighed as his sister-figure listens carefully to him.
"Victor isn't the sweetest apple in the tree."
"A deaf and blind child could've told you that," the black haired girl replied as Ben released a hearty laugh. Lily smiled at the sound as she yawned slightly.
"And did I mention that Sue was there today?" This caught Lily off guard. She blinked a few times, not rushing to answer Ben. She frowned as she remembered hearing the news of Reed and Susan's break up. 'Those two really were good together.'
"How was it?" Lily asked cautiously as she heard Ben release yet another sigh.
"Well, it definitely wasn't a fun experience," said Ben. Lily scowled to no one in particular as she paced from left to right, back and forth.
"But Reed handled it well, right?" she inquired.
"Yeah, but I swear, you could've cut the tension with a knife," Ben remarked as Lily smiled slightly. She reached to the back of her head, scratching it slightly.
"I guess that's to be expected," the teacher commented, causing Ben to raise an eyebrow.
"What're you talkin' about?" he asked as Lily chuckled.
"Don't you worry about that, Ben! Anyways, what's the plan now?"
"We go to space." A smirk appeared on Lily's face as she stood up straight.
"Then space, here we come."
"Wait, so Ben isn't piloting the space shuttle?" A confused expression etched itself on to Lily's face as she climbed out of her black convertible. A yawn escaped her lips as she stretched, the long car ride officially over with. She glanced around, taking in the dry scenery around her. She stood in the middle of a deserted area, with the exception of "egg-head's" (as Ben would say) shuttle center.
"No, it would seem as though Victor already has a pilot."
"How's Ben taking it?" she asked with a hint of laughter in her voice as her superior took a moment to pause before answering.
"..He's…taking it better than I expected." This caused Lily to laugh out loud as she grabbed her bag from the back seat of her car. She held her phone up to her ear with one hand as she closed the top of her car with the other.
"Well, if Ben's not piloting, who is?" Again, a pause was taken, an uncomfortable feeling rising in the woman's gut.
"Reed, who's piloting?" she asked once more.
"It's-oh! I think I see you." Lily looked up and a grin appeared on her face as she saw a familiar patch of black hair. She dropped her bag and swiftly flipped her phone shut, shoving it into her pocket.
"Reed!" She sprinted towards the man as he smiled at her with his usual calm expression. She jumped into his arms as he held her tight, his arms wrapped around her protectively.
"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" the scientist stated as Lily laughed and nodded her head.
"It really has." After the two took a short few minutes to catch up with one another, they headed inside Victor's private space center.
"So, where's Ben?" Lily asked, forgetting her other question with ease. Reed looked back at her as they continued down the hall, passing many workers with white lab coats on.
"He's in the men's changing room," Reed explained as Lily nodded her head. Her mentor showed her all the important rooms before leading her to the girl's changing room.
"I think you can handle it from here." Lily chuckled as Reed smiled at her. She nodded her head and watched as he made his way down the hall, turning and disappearing. She took a deep breath and walked into the changing room. She took a careful look around, noticing every detail of the room. She set her bag down on the chair to her right and scratched the back of her head. Before she could do anything else, a new voice rang in her ears.
"Lily?" Said woman raised an eyebrow as she heard her name being called. She turned to face the new comer but her eyes widened as she saw a very familiar face.
"Susan!" An ecstatic grin appeared on Lily's face as she saw Susan Storm standing in front of her. The woman still looked as pretty as she remembered her being. Her blonde hair was still bright, of course not too bright, and her blue eyes shined in the light, almost catching Lily off guard.
"It really is you!" Susan laughed as she opened her arms and welcomed the long awaited hug. Lily held her best friend tightly as the two women shared a chuckle. After releasing each other from the tight hold, Susan held Lily by the shoulders, making sure to see every detail of the now grown up girl.
"Wow! It feels like it's been years since I've seen you," the blonde commented as Lily nodded her head. She smiled up at her previous babysitter and felt the nervousness slowly seep away from her body.
"How have you been?" Lily asked as she and Susan both sat down, taking a few moments to catch up with one another.
"I've been good. Victor's been keeping me busy with work, but everything's alright." At the sound of Lily's least favorite person's name, she resisted the urge to vomit and nodded her head. She hesitated, but decided to test the waters, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"And how is it with Reed?" This caused Susan's demeanor to crack slightly. She frowned at the name as Lily took notice and checked that into her brain.
"It's fine, I don't' know why it wouldn't be." The younger woman tried to make sure that she didn't roll her eyes. Susan tore her eyes away from Lily's piercing gaze, making the her sigh.
"Honestly?" Susan looked up, Lily's eyes asking for the truth. Finally, the blonde woman shook her head, rubbing her temples.
"You know, I didn't end things with Reed because I didn't…" She trailed off as Lily nodded her head, understanding her "older sister" completely. "But, I'm telling you, the only thing that runs through that man's head is science! Equations and variables, it was like I just couldn't…" She trailed off once more, trying to figure out the right word for her emotions. Her friend thought along with her, and finally came up with a possible answer.
"It was like you just couldn't compete?" Susan nodded, relieved that she knew at least one person who understood her feelings. Lily sighed as she leaned back against her chair, shaking her head.
"You know how Reed gets. He's more of a…think first, act later, type of person."
"I know, but I couldn't wait forever, I was ready to take the next step and he wasn't," Susan pointed out as Lily sighed and nodded. Her friend did have a point, a woman could only wait so long before taking a deep relationship to the next level.
Love is something that is very close to one's heart, and if the person that they want to move forward with is stuck in the same place forever, what is someone to do? How long can a person wait before realizing just how short forever really is? And if the person they love isn't on the same page as them, do they really love them at all? Or are the two just not meant to be together? These questions are always able to just throw people around and confuse them to no end.
Lily stood up, glancing at the time, and smiled down at her friend.
"You ready to go, boss?" Susan shook her head as she chuckled and stood to her feet, nodding her head in response.
"Alright then, ready to gear me up?"
