"Good afternoon Logan. I can see you are in a fine mood this morning. Something on your mind?" Professor Xavier gave Logan a knowing look. Damned mind-reader!
"Found a stray. She camped out on the garden bench. Her name's..."
"Rachel, yes I know. I had been keeping an eye on her all morning. But thank you any way Logan." The Professor turned his attention to the girl gawking in front of him. "My name is Charles Xavier. And this is my school. A school for mutants much like yourself. And yes, before you ask, I know quite a lot about you, because you see... you are not the only one with gifts my girl."
"Oh, so you're some kind of psychic? Is that it?" Rachel asked.
More or less
Whoa! Hang on a tick! His lips hadn't moved when he said that! He was talking in her brain! The older man behind the desk just smiled, knowing that he had completely freaked her out.
"Ok, that was freaky. Could you please never do that again? I prefer to see your mouth move over the mind-meld thing. Way to late night vampire movie for me!"
"As you wish Rachel." Xavier said, moving his mouth and making sounds come out. Rachel instantly knew that he was a genuine good guy. "Logan, why don't you take our new guest over to the East wing? Have Scott take a look at her."
"Yea, ok Xavier." Great! A trip to the bat cave to see grumpy ass Scooter. Just what Logan wanted to do today. "Come on kid, let's go see Scott. I'm sure you'll just love him, all the girls do!"
Is that a hint of jealousy I hear, Logan?
Buzz off, Charles!
The unlikely pair exited the room, as warm laughter followed them out. Logan led the girl toward the east section of the mansion. Every so often he would steel a quick side-ways glance, only to find her looking off out the passing windows. She had beautiful brown hair, the entire mass falling in giant curls all around her arms. Her face was placid, like she had finally been able to relax. Well, Charles had a way of calming even the biggest beast. Logan inhaled slightly, catching a small dose of her intoxicating scent. Damn! He had to stop doing that! As soon as he got her to Scooters office, he was leaving and never crossing paths with her again. She touched too many places that Logan just couldn't deal with right then.
Two and a half hours later, Logan's legs began to fall asleep. He had been sitting on the floor outside the medical lab for way too long. After he had led the kid here, Logan had fully planned on sneaking away to the nearby garage for a little joy ride on the Ducati that Scott had just
finished fixin' up. Instead that red-eyed freak had asked him to stick around in order to escort Rachel to her new room over in the South halls.
"She has eyes and working legs! Why the hell can't she find her own way?" Logan grumbled under his breath. But deep down inside, something sparked at the idea of seeing her again. "It's the whiskey. Gotta be still in my system." He knew it was a lie, but then again, Logan had always been a master of bullshitting.
Logan heard the door creek and lifted his head to see one very frightened girl. "What the hell did you do to her Scooter?"
"Excuse me Logan, but I did my job. I ran some tests, complied reports for the Professor and tested her abilities." Scott looked over at Rachel and gave her a quiet smile. "She's one tough girl, I will tell you that. Take her back to her room, and meet me and the team at the Professor's office so we can discuss everything."
"Yeah, ok, just get your hands off of her. I think you've done enough, Scooter!" Logan reached for Rachel's hand and she gladly accepted the gentle touch.
"Take care, Rachel, and if you need anything, do not hesitate to come find me. Ok?"
"Um... yes, ok. Will do." She said. Her hand tightened voluntarily and to her surprise, Logan squeezed back. The small contact was driving her crazy! She had just met this man not three hours ago, and already she felt there was something between them. Soul mates? No, she didn't believe in those anymore. She stopped believing in destiny and soul mates many years before, when her mother... no, this wasn't the time or place to think about that. So she lifted her head, looked deep into Logan's eyes and shut the door on her jagged past.
"Ok, let's get you settled in so I can go pow wow with the Cyborg back there."
"I heard that, Logan!" Scott yelled from the med lab.
"I intended you to, Scooter!"
Rachel and Logan walked in silence for a few minutes, their hands no longer pressed together. Rachel felt cold, and tired, but she was also curious about the silent man walking next to her. "So you and him don't get along much do you?"
"Scooter? Hardly." Logan said. Something passed over his face, just a brief glimpse of emotion... maybe remorse? Rachel was too exhausted to analyze it further.
"Scooter? I bet he hates that name."
"Yeah, bet he does." The lop-sided grin hit Rachel like a sucker punch to the gut. Logan wasn't just nice looking. He was beautiful. "Ok, here we are. 236, your new room." Logan leaned closer to the door, listening. Rachel closed her eyes and focused on the sounds coming from the room,
and she instantly heard it too. Pop music. "And from the sounds of it, your new roommates are home."
"Great! Brittany Spears. Just my kind of music." Rachel groaned.
"Not a teeny Pop idol fan?"
"No, I'm more into the mellow sounds like Ella, Satchmo, and Norah."
"Jazz, huh? I like that in a girl." Logan paused, willing himself not to go any further. He had already let his emotions go unchecked, first with grabbing her hand and now this! What was wrong with him!? This girl made him say and do things that he would never normally let happen. He had to stop seeing her so much. Once a year... yeah that'll do. But as she walked past him into the room and shut the door, he felt a small tinge of regret at the thought of leaving her.
"Definantly the whiskey." Logan mused as he walked off towards the Professor's office.
