Title: save your breath II: i know what you did last summer
Characters: Hellion, X-23, and the New Mutants + Hellions squads
Universe: 616 pre-M-Day
Summary: Life as teenagers, in...what exactly? Julian's still trying to define that, and he thinks summer break will help him decide. Little does he know what X-23's past holds...and her future.
A/N: Picks up from save your breath. Thanks to all who gave the first story such great reviews, hope you continue to enjoy it!
-1-
"I am leaving the school, to go to California, for two and a half months," Laura informed her mentor seriously. She jerked her thumb at Julian. "We are travelling via rail. I will stay with his
family. He is my squad captain, and the other members are going."
Logan glanced over at Julian, then focused on Laura again.
"Have fun, kid," he said.
The boy's mouth dropped open. He couldn't believed what he'd just witnessed; there'd been no interrogation, no rants about safety, nothing one would expect from a parental-type figure.
Not even a single warning.
"Oh—one thing," Logan spoke up, as Laura walked away. "Keller."
"Huh?" Julian looked at his teacher.
"You break it…you buy it," Logan said, grinning. "Keep that in mind." Suddenly he did not look very pleasant; Julian was reminded that he, like Laura, had a dark past, only it was well publicized.
"Okay, sir," he said, even though he didn't understand what he was getting at.
…
The group had a final lunch at Xavier's together, in the cafeteria. Seven people were going; amongst the included were Julian himself, Laura, Santo, Brian, Cessily, Sooraya, and Kevin; an air of general
excitement circulated through the table.
"Have you ever been to California?" Julian asked her.
"Yes. I have lived in San Francisco, with my aunt and cousin," Laura said, after swallowing her spoonful of fruit salad.
"I live in Beverly Hills," he said, pleased with himself. "It's nothing like you've ever seen. Paris Hilton is practically my neighbor."
"DUDE! That sucks!" Santo said loudly. "Did you ever try running over her dog with the lawnmower?"
Julian wrinkled his nose. "I don't cut the grass, the staff does it." He glanced around the group, then at Laura, checking for effect. She had been looking at him, and looked away quickly; he was pleased. He
put an arm around her waist, glad she'd decided to come. It would be a great time, in a low-stress atmosphere, to figure out exactly what was going on, and where they stood now.
From what he could tell, they were a couple, a very casual one, but one nonetheless. They hung around a lot, and he got her to talk about random things. He became somewhat of a fixture in the room
she and Cessily shared (sometimes, sleepily, Cessily tried to hang her housecoat on him and completely freaked out when she realized he was alive). He'd taken her to a few movies, something
she seemed to enjoy.
Laura no longer seemed to find his presence odd, or bothersome; she, too, had begun to relax around him, no longer bristling every time she heard his name. She was more comfortable with contact,
and he touched her often, pleased.
They'd traded cell phone numbers, and occasionally he texted her, and she responded, something trivial but to him meaningful, indicative of some sort of interest and commitment.
One thing hung between them like a shadow, however—Sofia. Laura mourned her dead friendship, he could see it in her eyes at times—and he, too, felt quite badly over how he'd dealt with the whole
matter. Sofia had quickly left for a vacation in the Bahamas, with Laurie.
Other than that, life was fairly good.
"This is going to be so awesome," Cessily said, her voice full of excitement. "I've always wanted to see the States!"
The idea had been partially born when Laura had mentioned to him—on one of his afternoons, when he was lying on her bed, playing with his game boy and talking about their summer plans—that flying
might not be an option.
Although she didn't elaborate on her knowledge, Laura had experience with airport security protocols; and she highly doubted that Julian's friends, made of metal, and rocks—and herself, with blades in
her limbs—would be able to pass the metal detectors to board the plane.
Julian had been upset at the notion that they should avoid doing what normal people did, just because they were mutants; however, Cessily had protested (being present in the room at the time) and
had shared with them her long-time desire to travel by rail.
Eventually, he'd caved in, and they'd met every day in the cafeteria for a week, planning the trip, with the others he'd invited.
…
At the railway station, with Mr. Summers (who had driven them).
"Be careful," the man reminded them, the fussy parent. "No powers in public."
"We know, Mr. Summers," Cessily said cheerfully.
"I was talking to Julian," their headmaster answered dryly. "I know some of you can't conceal your powers. But you can behave…and that means not using your powers to show off. The only time it's
appropriate to use them, in the light mutants are viewed in at the moment, is a life-threatening situation. Something Mr. Keller has yet to learn."
Julian flushed slightly.
"Laura, keep an eye on him," Cyclops added.
"Okay," Laura said, even as her companion made a noise of outraged protest.
"Good. I'll sleep easier." Mr. Summers gave the girl a friendly smile, then shut the trunk of the SUV, their luggage on the pavement beside them. "Everyone's got their tickets?"
"Yep," Julian said.
"Alright."
Laura looked over towards the platform as a whistle sounded.
"You'd better go…don't want to miss it," Mr. Summers said. "Have fun! Call us when you arrive!"
"See you later, Mr. Summers!" Cessily called as they hurried towards the platform, their luggage making grinding noises on the pavement behind them.
…
Laura followed her teammates-slash-somewhat friends into the rail car, thinking back to the day in early spring—when she'd first arrived in New York, at the institute—also on
a train. A lot had changed since then.
She did not know if she would ever truly feel at ease amongst her peers, her colleagues. She did not think she would ever truly understand every nuance between them, every
expression. But, she had begun to realize perhaps that was not necessary. Before she had arrived, she had believed her mission to be fitting in; but now, after more than half
a year with the Xavier children, she found she did not feel as much pressure to be the same as them. She had met others—Sofia and Sooraya, to start—who, like her, had
different customs, different beliefs, and different reactions to many situations.
Laura supposed that, in a way, she was from another background as well. She might not be from a different country, but it was very similar. Like the others, it would take
her time—much time—to adjust to the change.
The difference was she could kill everybody, without meaning to, by inhaling a specific scent. That she might be startled into a memory and react from instinct. That she might
be targeted, by assailants from her past (even though Logan had solemnly promised her that would never happen, ever).
A lot had changed.
"Coming?" Julian asked her, seeing she had paused in the doorway, gazing out the window at the now-moving scenery.
"Yes." Laura resumed, following him towards the cabins they had reserved. It was to be a three-day trip, meaning they would sleep on the train. Cessily paused, up ahead, examining her ticket.
"Here, Laura!" she said, sounding excited. "This is ours!"
"Okay," Laura said. Julian had stopped, blocking the narrow space. "Move."
"Uh," he said, looking at her. "I thought…"
Laura waited, and Cessily watched from over his shoulder.
"Did you want to share my cabin?" he asked after a moment, a little shyly.
Cessily's eyes widened.
"It would be illegal," Laura said matter-of-factly. "My ticket dictates that I am to share a cabin with Cessily."
"Well, we can always trade tickets," Julian said. "The conductor hardly looked at them anyways."
"But—" Cessily stopped, her fingers hooked in the door-handle. "Fine, I guess I could room with Sooraya. Boys!" She shoved the cabin door aside forcefully and entered, closing it with a bang.
He gestured for Laura to follow, and led her towards a door at the end. He opened it with his mind and hauled his suitcase in.
"Julian," Laura said sternly. "Mr. Summers instructed you not to use your abilities in public."
"No one was looking. Are you coming or not?" He was holding the door open with his hand now. Laura stepped in and he let it close behind her with a snap!, then reached over and slid
her bag off her shoulder. He then began to stuff it in the overhead compartment.
"I can't believe you just brought a backpack!" he said after he had finished.
"Is that wrong?" Laura asked, tilting her head.
"No…I've just never seen a girl travel so light," he said. "We'll be there all summer…you sure you have enough clothes in that thing?"
"It is better to have less," Laura said. "I have brought sufficient belongings, all the clothing I own."
"…" Julian stopped. "You're kidding me, right?"
"No." Laura's eyebrows drew together; she'd obviously said something wrong.
"I didn't know you were poor," Julian blurted. "Laura…I thought…I mean, Mr. Logan…"
"Logan does not need to provide me with material possessions," Laura said briefly. "And I am not poor. I have one hundred forty seven thousand six hundred and thirty-five dollars."
Julian shifted. "But…you…huh?"
"I do not wish to discuss this," Laura said firmly, turning her back. She caught sight of the restroom and approached it; she was surprised to see that the toilet was in the shower.
"Laura—" Julian had followed her to the door. "Why do you have so little then?"
"I do not require more." She peered into the bathtub, fascinated. "I have not seen this before."
"Neither have I," Julian said. He wrinkled his nose. "Kinda dumpy."
Laura paused and turned to look at him, over her shoulder. With an expectant expression, something he had grown used to.
"You know…it's cheap. They're saving money by squishing stuff together, and economizing."
"Do you think I am 'dumpy'?" Laura asked suddenly.
Julian blinked. "What made you think that?"
"You criticized my lack of possessions. Should I have more?" she asked, brushing hair behind her ear.
"It doesn't really matter, I guess," he said, after a moment. "But I think it's a bit weird. Why don't you and Cess go shopping when we get there? She'd love that…and I'm sure
there'd be a few things you'd want. Like a bikini."
Laura's brow wrinkled. "A bikini?"
"…" Julian shifted, again. "You've never seen one?"
"No."
"It's like, um, underwear, that you can wear in public," he said. "You can get it wet, too, without it going see-through."
"Oh." Laura had a memory—the wetsuit she'd worn, on many missions—and she wondered if it might not be something similar. She made her way out of the restroom again, brushing past
Julian as she went to the bunk beds, and then sat down on the edge of the bottom one.
"Laura…where were you that you don't know all this?" Julian asked after a moment. "I mean…all these real life things. I can't figure out much about you…and…I'd like to know, I guess…"
"I do not wish to discuss this," Laura repeated, like she always did.
He hesitated, then moved across the room and sat down beside her. "Okay," he said. "I wish you'd change your mind. If this is about…well, how I was before…"
"No, it is not about 'how you were before'," Laura said, a hint of irritation in her tone. "I simply do not wish to discuss my history."
Silence.
"I am sorry, about it, you know," Julian said, looking at the floor.
Laura observed him.
"You were hostile," she agreed. They hadn't spoken about her earlier months at the institute, aside from the near-drowning experience she'd had in the pool. That had been the defining
moment, when, seemingly, he'd changed from being 'hostile' to something she couldn't quite define. They'd exchanged intimate gestures, touches, occasional glances, along the lines of
what 'couples' at the school shared; however, Laura wasn't sure what had happened. He'd openly declared hatred of her; he'd told her they were in a state of combat. And now…this
was hardly combat. Enemies did not…snuggle.
"I know."
"And now…?" Laura asked, not sure, entirely, of what she meant, but at the same time curious. What changed? were the unspoken words.
He cleared his throat. "That's…I wanted to get you alone, for a while. Away from the school…from everyone who's constantly judging us…so we can figure out where we are…and, uh, how we got here."
"We are on a train," Laura said, puzzled at his change of subject. "Mr. Summers drove us to the station. You were present."
"That's not what I meant." He closed his eyes. "I meant about what we are to each other. I don't even know you, Laura. I know next to nothing about you. But I…I'm kind of crazy about you."
"Crazy?" Laura asked.
"Yeah. I think about you a lot. And I like spending time with you. You—you still scare me, sometimes…but less, a lot less than when you punched me."
Laura suddenly felt amused, remembering that she'd given him a superficial wound, a bruise around one of his eyes. She smiled slightly.
"Maybe I was mean to you 'cuz I liked you," he said. "I just didn't know it." He paused. "Seeing you naked helped," he said jokingly.
"Yes," Laura said seriously. This made sense. She had noted—his scent had changed, somewhere during their interactions. Probably after he'd seen her in the locker room, through the hole in
the wall, and his energies had shifted from hate to attraction.
"I can't believe you weren't mad about that," Julian said honestly.
"Why should I be?" Laura asked, blinking, as if the idea had never occurred to her.
"Um," Julian said. "You had every right to kick my ass. It's kind of...well, people don't just walk around naked, right? It's not acceptable in society. And to look at you, without you knowing…"
"Many people have seen me without clothes," Laura said, matter-of-factly.
Julian's brow wrinkled. "What—did they—who?"
Laura tilted her head, thinking. "My mother. Dr. Zander Rice. Kimura. Dr. Adam Harkins. Isabella Rodriguez. Justin Brinkley. James McDermott. And many others, whose names I was never informed."
"That's…did they do stuff to you?" Julian pressed.
Laura's lips set in a firm line. "I do not wish to discuss this, Julian."
"Okay," he said, beginning to form an idea of what may have occurred in her past. He reached out hesitantly and touched her shoulder. "I think…I think you're really brave, trying to live a normal life, after
whatever you went through," he said.
Laura considered this. "Thank you," she said, thinking it would be appropriate.
They sat for a while longer, Julian making conversation about everything from what they would do in California to people he was planning to see again. Laura noted that his stomach was
beginning to make growling noises, then a few minutes later he suggested they find food, and she agreed.
