Chapter 2
Logan tried to bit back the feeling of guilt that had re-emerged inside of him. "Ro would you just hear me out!"
A second clap of thunder materialized and hit with such force that it shook the windows behind her.
"I will not repeat myself again." It was a warning.
Logan could smell the ozone in the air and could feel the static electricity coming from her body. He knew that she was not bluffing, but he would rather her take her anger out on him than keep it all bottled in. "No, I ain't leaving like this." He said as he stood his ground.
Less than a split second later a ball of lightning collided into Logan's chest, and sent his heavy body flying into the wall behind him. Logan bit his tongue to stop the shout of pain from coming out his mouth. His entire body hurt but he did not let it stop him from trying to get up. He stood on slightly shaky legs for a moment as his body tried to rapidly heal its self.
"You gonna have to try a lot harder than that if you want me to leave." He slowly made his way closer to her. "If you're angry at me fine be angry, as long as you stop with this fucking calm and collective shit all the damn time."
For a moment the fury in Ororo's eyes were replaced with concern, but only for a moment. Slowly she moved from behind her desk. Sparks of lightning could be seen dancing against her skin. She rose up her hand again and lightning flew from her finger tips straight towards Logan, but this time he saw it coming and swiftly jumped out of the way. He was beside her in less than a second and caught her off guard. He ducked down and swept her legs from under her, she fell onto the floor. Ororo instinctively rolled away from him and jumped back to her feet.
Logan looked at her and smirked as if challenging her to make the next move. Ororo swung her leg out intending to hit him in the face. Logan easily caught her ankle in his hand, but failed to realize that she was no longer touching the ground. Ororo had immediately jumped into the air and swung out her second leg which connected with Logan's face. He promptly dropped her ankle. She landed in low crouch on her feet, but didn't have time to react before she felt Logan grab her and slam her against the adjacent wall.
The wind was slightly knocked out of her, and she was momentarily stunned. Logan had her body pinned against the wall with his, and he tried hard to ignore how it felt to have her body so close to his. They were both breathing heavily, as she struggled to get free. He could feel static electricity growing around her, and knew that she was about to electrocute him again.
"Feel better Darlin, or you want to fight some more?" A tense moment passed between them, before Ororo looked away and released a tired sigh. Her body was still tense but Logan felt her stop struggling. "You can't fight the pain by pretending it's not there. You have to face it."
"I am facing it, the best way I can." She turned back to him. She tried to blame the speeding of her heart on the adrenaline and not the fact that his body was pressed against hers.
"What way is that? Sleeping for 3 hours a day, and working till you're too tired to lift up your hand?"
"What would you rather me do? Lock myself in my room to keep this depressing and horrible world away? Well I can not do that, someone has to make sure that this school does not collapse, that the children are safe." She once again tried to push him away but his heavy body would not budge. "Can you not see that I can not afford to sleep? There is always something that needs to be done; always some problem that I must solve. Sleep is my enemy in more ways than one."
"What do you mean?" Logan's voice was almost gentle as he spoke.
"At night … every time I close my eyes I see them. One moment they are smiling and laughing, then the next they are all lying dead on the ground around me. I am living within a nightmare that refuses to allow me to wake up. There are moments when I wish I had died along with them. Sometimes I feel angry with them for leaving me, while other times I am angry with myself for not being able to save them. I have lost my family, not once but twice, and for the last few weeks I have felt completely numb inside, as if a part of me had died with them." Her eyes were a still a milky white color. "Can you not see that I have no more tears left within me to shed?" She whispered as she stared into his eyes.
Logan could hear the pain she felt within her voice. She wasn't allowing herself to grieve; wasn't allowing herself to express the sorrow that was burning up inside of her.
He couldn't let her go on like this. He had to do something before the pain destroyed her; before they lost her too. He opened his mouth to speak but could think of nothing to say. He wished he could take the pain away, he wished he could save her from this, but he couldn't. She needed to release her anguish, needed to allow herself to lose control if only for a moment. Outside the lightning and thunder had stopped and even the darken clouds had disappeared. Logan felt the shift in the weather and knew that Ororo was gradually releasing her hold on the climate. "Ro," He whispered. "Just let it rain."
She looked at him with confusion at first before realizing the meaning of his words. She wanted so much to simply unleash her powers, but she knew that she shouldn't. She had spent nearly half of her life trying to keep a tight rein over her abilities. She knew just how dangerous her powers could be. "I can not." She replied while she shook her head. "I can not afford to lose control."
"Stop holding everything in. It'll be okay." Unconsciously he lifted up his hand and touched the side of her face. "Trust me."
Ororo slightly shivered beneath his touch. Suddenly a small feeling of panic ran through her as something from within screamed for her to pull away; for her to regain her control over herself and this situation. However just as quickly as the feeling appeared it vanished and she found herself wanting to believe his words. She hesitated for only a moment before closing her eyes and letting her emotions grab hold of the elements. The sky swiftly opened up and cried for its mistress. A heavy rain began to fall as dark clouds covered the light of the moon. Logan shifted their bodies away from the wall and slowly wrapped his arms around her waist as she rested her head against his shoulder. Her body shook with silent sobs as she held onto him as if her very existence depended on it.
Minute after minute passed by as rain continued to pour down from the sky in seemingly never ending waves. Time momentarily lost all meaning as Logan stood there with Ororo in his arms. Little by little he felt her body relax as the rain lessened.
Ororo could feel exhaustion finally taking hold of her body as she let the sound of falling rain wash over her, temporarily freeing her of the pain she had held onto for so long. It was almost comforting this feeling of weightlessness she now felt. The sweet sound of sleep called out to her and she found herself unable to ignore it any longer.
Logan felt as Ororo drifted between reality and slumber. Without a hint of hesitation he effortlessly lifted her up in his arms. She squirmed for a second at the sudden change in position, but then calmed. Logan waited for a few moments before carrying her out of the room. He slowly made his way to the artic where her room was, and managed to quietly open the door without disturbing her. The moment he stepped into the room he was meant with the sweet smells of lavender and sandalwood. Even in the dark he could still make out the out lines of the many pots that lie around the room, carefully placed near the windows. He walked to her bed and bent over to gently place her down. He stood back up and couldn't help but watch her sleeping form for a moment. Her silky white hair had won another the battle against her bun and several large stands had managed to escape from its confines. A couple stands had fallen across her face. Almost without thinking Logan reached down and brushed the strands from her face. His fingers lingered on her skin for a moment. Ororo suddenly awoke and grabbed hold of his hand before he could completely pull away.
"Logan?" She whispered still half asleep.
He almost jumped back from her touch. "Yeah it's me. Go to sleep, darling."
"Wait," she whispered.
He quickly shook away the dangerous thoughts that were running through his mind. It took him a few seconds to respond. "Don't worry you'll see me in the morning." He tried again to pull away but she held on tightly to his hand.
"No stay here." She could barely see his face but she knew that he looked confused and hesitant. She knew that this was probably not a good idea but she didn't care. She wanted to hold onto the rare feeling of comfort her felt. And she feared that once he was gone the sorrow and restlessness would return. She refused to put meaning into the fact that she needed him close by.
Logan stared at her unsure what to do or even what to say. He wanted nothing more than to lie down beside her and feel her warmth around him, but he didn't want her to regret this in the morning. As if sensing the battle raging inside him Ororo tugged his hand, and sealed his decision. Logan laid down on his side facing her.
"Don't leave." She whispered already drifting off to sleep, her hand now on his arm as she moved closer to him.
"I won't" He promised, as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Words left unspoken hung in the air above them leaving the two of them to rest for now. Soon morning would come and they would have no choice but to deal with what happened. However for now rest was their only concern as pleasant dreams lulled them into a rare state of peace.
THE END
I hope you liked the story. Please leave a review if you did. Thanks.
