Arianna walked down the sidewalk in this big new city. This place was going to be her new home. It wasn't that she didn't want to be at the institute, she couldn't be there. Those halls haunted her to the core. There were just too many memories inside those walls. She couldn't take it anymore.
Ari looked down as her cell phone began to ring. The song that played clued her in to who it was, the school. She rooted around in her purse until she pulled out the cellular phone and pushed the talk button. "Hello?" She asked into the speaker.
"Ari, where are you? Everyone is worried. Why did you leave?" A female voice spoke through the receiver.
Ari sighed. A friendly person, not him. "I'm sorry Rogue. I couldn't stay. Something happened and I had to leave." She spoke softly taking careful steps down the sidewalk. She had joined the school the same year that Rogue had taken over the school with Wolverine. That was only seven years ago
Ari remembered that day all too well. Her mutant powers had went out of control and Rogue and Wolverine came to her house. Her parents had been all too happy to get rid of their mutant ten year old daughter. Once she was gone, they had disappeared for good. They had never cared about Ari, not one bit.
"Sug, it can't be bad enough to leave without saying goodbye." Rogue had practically adopted Ari. They were really close to each other. It was why it killed Ari to leave.
"I...I just couldn't stay, I'm sorry." Ari spoke with tears falling down her cheeks. It was too hard not to cry when one of the only people to love her was on the phone, hurt because she left.
"Ari, calm down and tell me about it. I can come to you, if you would like." Rogue tried to reason.
Ari shook her head. "No, it's impossible. i am not in the state anymore." She said with a soft sigh.
"Sug, that doesn't matter. Logan can watch the school, I can come." Rogue was trying everything she could, but Ari wasn't relenting. If Rogue came, Ari would get dragged back.
"I'm sorry, but no. I can't go back. It is time for me to start a new life and go out on my own." She wiped away her tears and looked from the ground to watch where she was going.
"Well, I wish you the best then. Good Luck." Rogue replied realizing she had lost the battle. "I am always here for you if you need it."
"Thanks." Ari spoke before hanging up the phone. She put the cell back in her bag and continued on down the street, closing her eyes for a second. She would be lying to herself if she said that that wasn't a hard thing to do.
There was a reason she had left. She wouldn't have walked out on Rogue and Logan if there wasn't. She had become close to the two adults and the teachers had come to rely on her for student relations. But her reason was big enough for her to throw all of that away, and his name was Liam Aiden.
Liam was a Danish mutant that had come to the school earlier that year. He had the power over fire. It went well with her power over water. The two of them had grown close to each other and started dating.
Their relationship thrived for four months. Then they went on the one date that would change everything. He had wanted to take her to a fancy restaurant. He wore a suit and tie, and she, well, she dressed elegantly. Her dress was floor length scarlet red. It was backless with an insanely low cut front. The fabric clung to her curves and draped off her hips extravagantly. Her blonde curls had been pulled up flawlessly and her make up was perfect. He had been stunned by her. The dinner went great, then they went to the park.
Liam wanted more from Ari than she was willing to give, and when she refused to have sex with him, he raped her. Afterwards, he drove them back to the school and went to his room, leaving her alone in his car parked in the garage. Ari had sat there for an hour crying. She eventually made it back to her room. Her dress was in shambles, her hair was a mess, and her make up was smudged like crazy. She changed into a sweat suit and collapsed into her bed.
She hadn't left her room for two days, not eating or anything. Rogue became worried about her but Ari assured her that she was just ill. When she finally emerged from her room, Liam avoided her completely. After a week of him doing this, she decided to leave. She didn't tell anyone where she was going, just left a simple note on her bed.
Ari turned the corner of a street and headed inside the park entrance. The place was pretty deserted with the exception of a few couples here and there. This place was quiet, just what she needed. She needed to think, to plan her next move. She needed a place to stay. Sure, she had a hotel room, but that ended in three weeks. After that, she needed a new place. Somewhere to call home. Home had always been the institute for her, but he was there now so she couldn't be. It wasn't fair, but no one said life was fair. She just had to deal with it.
