Disclaimer: I don't own X-men. At all. So don't sue. The only characters I own are Maddy and Aliza. That's it. Note: I had the dream stuff in Italics, but it didn't like to show

**Tears fell from her large blue eyes as she backed away from her mother in horror. She begged and pleaded for her to stop, but her cries were useless. Her mother stalked closer to her.
"You're a mutant!?" She screamed while she waved a kitchen knife around wildly with her right hand. "I gave birth to a mutant?!" She was now right in front of Aliza, the point of the knife now resting under her chin. Aliza tried to back up further, but found her back up against a wall, with no escape.

"Mommy. Please.no." she begged, hoping her mother would come to her senses. But it was too late. Her mother plunged the knife into her stomach. A look of disbelief, shock and pain overwhelmed her senses, and the only site she saw before the blackness took over was the evil look in her very own mother's eyes.**

Aliza woke up screaming, her heart pounding in her chest. Her slender hands grabbed her stomach, making sure there was no blood to be found. Sighing with relief, she sat up and ran her hand through her damp hair.
"Aliza?" a small voice said, cutting through the darkness. "Are you okay?" the young teen who occupied the bed below her switched on the small lamp that sat on the nightstand next to their beds. Aliza flinched and brought her hands to her eyes at the sudden sight of the light. She blinked away the black dots that obscured her vision and looked down to the girl. "You had that dream again didn't you?" she said as she glanced up to her friend's bed. "Do ya wanna talk about it?"
Aliza let out a small sigh and shook her head. "Nah, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna go downstairs and grab a snack."

"Is that the last of the ice cream?"
Bobby looked up from the box and saw Aliza leaning on the doorframe. Shaking his head he pointed to the fridge with his spoon. "There's another pint in there. Strawberry, I think." He said while digging a scoop out of his own pint. "So what are you doing up this late?" he asked. "I had that nightmare again," she said softly as she opened the freezer door. Bobby looked her up and down from his stool at the island. Her shoulder length brown hair was tangled. Her medium built frame was hidden by the baggy t-shirt she wore and the black nylon shorts. She turned around with the pint in her hand, kicking the door shut with her foot and took residence on the stool across from him. "So I decided to come down here and grab a small snack, whether or not I'll fall back asleep is a different story." Bobby nodded slowly. "How often has this been happening?" he said, his mouth full of ice cream.
"Almost every night now." She sighed and the two fell silent. The only noise accompanying them was the quiet hum of the fridge and the chime of the grandfather clock in the hall striking one a.m. She scratched her forehead and glance up to Bobby and forced a small smile "But hey, it's just a dream right?"
Bobby didn't know what to say. He just sat there, looking into her soft blue eyes. They've become close friends since she arrived to the mansion five months ago. She had such a tranquil personality that just drew people in. It was amazing. She smiled and looked down to her ice cream. "Have you talked to Professor Xavier about this?" he asked. He put the cap back on his ice cream and stood up and placed it in the freezer. He tossed the spoon into the sink and went back to his stool, placing his arms on the top of the island and leaned forward. Aliza shook her head, her hair that was resting on her back fell forward to dangle on the sides of her face and shoulders.
"No. But I'm sure he knows something is up. It's hard to keep things from him." She sighed and looked at her ice cream. "Bah.. I'm not hungry anymore.." she said as she pushed the container to the side.
"Aliza, you've got to talk to him. Maybe he can work something out." Bobby knew he was talking to a brick wall, but he thought that he'd at least try. She stood up and ran her hands through her hair, placing her ice cream back in the fridge. Bobby sighed. "Aliza." She gave him a warm smile and a gentle wink from her ice-cold blue eyes. He knew she was attempting to avoid the meeting with Xavier. "Well," she said "I'm going to attempt to fall back asleep, don't stay up too much longer." Bobby gave a small chuckle and nodded. "Don't worry I won't. I don't think Storm would appreciate me falling asleep in History again." She gave him a small wave and walked out the door. Bobby smiled and waved back.

Aliza emerged from the kitchen and into the dimly lit hallway of the mansion. She ran her hand through her hair then glanced at the clock. One- thirty. She really didn't feel like going back to her bedroom, going back to that nightmare. She sighed and walked to the back of the house and to the gardens and basketball court area. The cool stone of the patio felt good against her bare feet. She stepped onto the damp grass and walked over to the fountain. She sat down and ran her fingers a bit above the water. The water obeyed the movements of her fingers and parted slightly as if her fingers were actually in the water. She smiled a bit and dipped her hand in the water, letting it cool her hand. The water was so calm and peaceful, yet she knew it could have the power to destroy with its raging waves. She glanced up to the sky and saw the millions of stars twinkling against the dark canvas. They were so pretty, peaceful, non-judgmental. The young girl smiled to her self as she stood up. Saying a quiet goodnight to the stars she walked back into the mansion to attempt to fall asleep once again.

"Good morning New York! It's currently eight am. and it's a beautiful day today with the highs in the 80's.."
Aliza blinked awake as the radio DJ went through the day's weather as she slowly came back to reality. She ran the back of her hand over her eyes and leaned over the top bed's railing to glance at her roommate's bed, which was currently empty. Figured. She sat up and climbed down the cool black metal ladder. She turned the alarm off then moved her head from side to side, hearing a couple of satisfying pops and grinned to herself. She walked over to the closet, grabbed a pair of hip-hugger jeans and a form fitting shirt then went and grabbed her towels and her basket of shower stuff and made her way towards the girls showers down the hall.

"Mornin' ya'll." Aliza walked into the kitchen, her shoulder length hair was damp and combed back behind her ears. Bobby chuckle when he saw her shirt. " 'Charm School Reject' eh?" Aliza raised an eyebrow and then realized what he was talking about. She glanced down to her shirt and smiled. "Yep that's me!!" as she pointed a thumb to herself while puffing up her chest. "Mwahahaha." Madeline, her roommate who has the ability of telekinesis and goes by the nickname Maddy, laughed and patted the stool next to her. "Thanks" Aliza sat down across from Bobby, almost the same scene that took place other night. "Glad to see that you're all smiles and sunshine this morning." Maddy said as she chomped down on a fork full of pancakes. Aliza shrugged and reached over and grabbed a couple of pancakes.
"Meh, for some odd reason I'm just in a good mood." She said as she started to pour maple syrup on her breakfast.
They spend most of their mornings in the kitchen eating together instead of the commons that was just down the hall with the rest of the students. It felt nice to spend the somewhat quiet mornings together and talk about whatever came to mind. It was even better since Bobby loved to cook so much. Which has gotten him teased a bit for fun from Aliza and Maddy just because of his mutation.
"So you didn't melt this time slaving over that hot stove?" Aliza giggled as she put her dishes in the dishwasher. Bobby tossed a clean crumpled up napkin at her head and smiled.
"The only thing I'd melt over would be you."
She bent over and picked up the napkin, tossing it back at his head. "Cheesiest pick up line ever Mr. Drake." She rolled her eyes and walked over to Bobby and gave him a quick sideways hug.
Bobby nodded saying "Yea yea, that's me, the King of Cheese." He patted her arm and she released her grip as he stood up. "Well, I'm going to head off to class. I'll see you ladies later." He winked to the both of them and grabbed his knapsack that was leaning against the island and walked out the door.
Maddy busted out into a fit of laughter, holding her stomach as she leaned forward, placing her forehead on the counter top. "Oh dear lord! He's such a flirt."
Aliza bit her lip and shrugged lightly. "He's a great guy though. He was down here last night after my nightmare and we talked and he helped me get my mind somewhat off of it." She sat down in the stool Bobby had abandoned earlier.
"Have you talked to the Professor about this lately?" Madeline asked.
"Actually no. He most likely knows that something is up, giving his mind reading powers and all." Her voice trailed off a bit and she sighed. "It's been five months, you'd think that I would of at least of gotten over it by now, even with the Professor's help." She sighed again and picked at her fingernails.
"He was able to help you through it last time. I think you should go talk to him." She then reached out and patted Aliza's hand gently. "And you know where to find me, or Bobby in this mansion if you need someone to talk to."
Taking a deep breath, she nodded slowly and ran her hand through her damp hair. "Thanks hun.."

Professor Xavier looked out the window and watched the all the children play or just hang out in the gardens. His turned his wheel chair around to face his desk and cleared it a bit. He looked up to the door as a soft knock was heard a couple seconds after.
"Come in Aliza." Xavier said. He gave the girl a heart-warming smile as she poked her head inside.
"Do you have a few minuets Professor?" Xavier nodded and a small smile appeared on Aliza's lips. "Thanks." She took a seat on one of the big comfy chairs that sat in front of Xavier's desk. She sighed and looked down to her clasped hands in her lap. "I've been having my nightmares again." She whispered. "How long?" "About 2 weeks or so. I figured they'd go away, but, I was wrong. It's the same thing over and over, my mother coming at me with a knife, the pain of it plunging into my stomach, darkness, and then me waking up screaming and waking up Madeline." She quickly wiped a tear off her cheek. "It's so hard," she said her voice starting to break, "to see that image of my own mother attempting to kill me." Xavier wheeled himself over to the teenager and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I wish I could take the memories away from you. But we've talked about this before. It's something you have to face and work on." He patted her shoulder. "When you go to bed tonight, try to think of positive things." He moved back and placed his hands on the wheelchair's armrest. "You may take the rest of the day off if you would like and if you ever need me, you know where I am. Don't be afraid to come ask for help." "Sure thing Professor." With that, Aliza stood up and left the Professors office.

**"Mom please no!"**

Aliza's eyes flashed open and she placed her hand over her eyes, trying to get the image out of her head. She brought her left wrist to her face and pushed her watch's indigo light. Blinking at the sudden green light she read the time. 1:15 a.m. She sat up and ran both of her hands through her hair and made her way down the ladder from her bed and quietly tip toed out the door making sure as to not to wake Maddy.
She wandered down the hallway, trying not to make the floor boards creek too much. She walked downstairs to make her way to the kitchen. She sighed as she noticed the kitchen was dark. She was really hoping Bobby was there. Shrugging to herself she stepped in and turned on the light. She opened the fridge and grabbed a glass of milk. She downed it quickly and placed the glass in the sink then exited the kitchen to retreat to the rec- room.
She settled down on the large sofa and turned the stereo on, turning it down to a low volume so she won't have to wake up the whole school.
The gentle piano sounds of Cold Play played in the dimly lit room. Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry, you don't know how lovely you are, I had to find you, tell ya I need you ,tell you I've set you apart, so tell me your secrets and ask me your questions, I know let's go back to the start, runnin circles, chasin our tails, heads on a silence, apart, nobody said it was easy.oh it's such a shame for us to part, nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard.. I'm goin back to the start.
She jumped as she felt a cool hand on her shoulder. "Couldn't sleep?" She looked up and saw Bobby behind her smiling softly.
"Yea. can you guess why?" Bobby walked around the sofa and sat next to Aliza and shrugged. "I could take a guess. How are you doing hun?"
Taking a deep breath, Aliza explained the nightmare and explained how she talked to the Professor. Tears stung her eyes, but she tried to fight them, yet lost the battle when Bobby put his arm around her shoulder. She melted against him and rested her head on his shoulder. He rubbed her arm gently. With his other hand, he used his thumb to wipe away her tears.
"I wish I could make the pain go away.." Bobby's voice was soft as Aliza snuggled closer to him.
"It's okay, you're doing a great job right now." She said, sniffling. Bobby kissed her forehead and placed his cheek on the top of her head.
"Glad I could be of some help." He sighed softly. He stood up and took her hands in his. "Stand up."
Aliza quirked an eyebrow and stood. Bobby smiled softly as he pulled her to him and slowly started to dance to the song. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek on his shoulder.
I was just guessin at numbers and figures, pullin the puzzles apart questions of science, science and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart, tell me you love me, come back to haunt me.
Aliza sighed softly as she hugged Bobby. "Thank you.." she said as she looked up to see his face. Bobby leaned down and gently kissed her cheek.
"No problem."
Aliza turned her face and looked at her watch. "Bah.. I better get to bed.." She said as she parted from Bobby.
"Are you going to be alright?"
Aliza walked over to the stereo and turned the stereo off. She stood there and bowed her head. Bobby noticed her starting to tremble. She shook her head no. He slowly walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his chest. "Hey.. Hey." he said gently as he turned her around to face him.
Aliza averted her eyes away from his face, not bearing the fact that she was crying in front of him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and it seemed like an eternity as they stood there in each other's arms. "I'm sorry," Aliza said as she pulled broke the embrace. She ran her hands over her eyes "I gotta get to bed.. Goodnight Bobby.." her voice was barely above a whisper. "Thanks.." Bobby watched in silence as he watched her leave the room.

Maddy blinked as she heard the door squeak open and then the sound of tripping over something on the floor and a small curse. "Aliza?" she was surprised she was able to get at least some type of voice out of her throat. The dark figured bounced a bit up and down keeping a foot slightly off the floor.
"Did you really have to leave your backpack in the middle of the room?"
Maddy giggled and leaned back against her pillow. "Sorry Ali," she turned over onto her side and watched Aliza climb up the ladder and onto her bed. "So where did ya go?"
She felt the bunk bed move a bit as Aliza tried to get into a comfortable. "You know, the same ol' same ol'. Bobby was downstairs again."
"Do ya think ya might be falling for him?" Maddy questioned.
"I don't know, he's really sweet and such.. but he's such a great friend.. I don't want things to get, you know.."
"Weird?" Maddy finished. She giggled and poked the mattress above her with her foot. "You silly girl. You over think sometimes, but I do understand where you're coming from."
Aliza sighed as she brought the covers up to her chin and turned over to face the wall. "Who knows, I'm going to attempt to sleep now. 'night."

Bobby fell onto his back on his bed sighing. There were so many things running through his head, and he found himself falling for Aliza, his best friend. Could he really let himself do that? He draped his arm over his eyes attempting to sort all the thoughts that were jumbled through his head.
"Bobby?"
He sat up quickly, his heart rate elevated as he shot a glance to the door. He blinked a bit and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Aliza?"
He noticed her standing in the door, wearing nothing but a large t- shirt, her hair resting gently on her shoulders. She bit her lip and looked to the floor, her toes curling inwards against the wooden floor. "I couldn't fall asleep.."
Bobby nodded and climbed underneath his covers. He patted the space of bed next to him. She closed the door behind her and tiptoed over to his bed and slipped under the covers with him. "Thanks.." she whispered softly as she settled her head down on a small corner of his pillow.
He reached up and turned off the light then gathered her into his arms. He could feel her back moving from her breathing. He gently rubbed his hand on her upper arm and whispered. "It's no problem babe."
Aliza turned over to face him. He couldn't help but realize how beautiful she was being highlighted by the moonlight. She smiled lightly and blushed as she stared into his blue eyes. Bobby gently brushed his fingers along her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He slowly leaned in, nervous, wondering if what he was doing was right, and kissed her.
She resisted at first, surprised by his action, but slowly gave in. After about a minuet, they broke free and a small smile appeared on her lips. Wanting more, Bobby leaned in and kissed her again.