A/N: Wow...I can't believe the massive response I've had for this story! All I can say is thank you so much. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed especially. I love talking to people about my writing and what they think as well as talking about similar interests we may share. If anyone fancies a chat about something X-Men related, or even not, feel free to message me! So here's the next chapter and to hoping that it lives up to your expectations.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything apart from Abi.

Chapter 2

We had such an easy friendship; nothing ever seemed forced. It all just came so naturally to us. We laughed and joked like we'd known each other for years. It was the most fun I'd ever had with a person before. But more importantly, I found acceptance. There was nothing more I wanted from a friend than that and thought it sounds like something so simple, it wasn't very easy to find. But I found acceptance in Charles and it just strengthened our relationship so much. We really were the best of friends within just two weeks. Perhaps that's why Raven didn't like me.

"Abi!" He whined.

"Charlie!" I whined right back.

Looking at his exaggerated "kicked puppy" face, I realized how bizarre this entire situation was. I really never thought that two weeks ago I would be sat arguing with the same man who'd thrown a chair at me about meeting his adoptive sister. Then again, I didn't really think any person I would consider being friends with would throw a chair at me. Charles was just as far from normal a man can get.

"I don't understand why you won't meet her!" He complained, collapsing onto the bench across from me.

I looked up from my book (history again), tucking a strand of hair blown out from the wind behind my ear so I could see him properly. He really was a master at getting what he wanted. Who could ever say no to those blue eyes? But I still refused.

"Why not?" He persisted. He really didn't know when to give up. "Give me one good reason why you won't meet her."

"Well," I paused as I struggled to find a good enough reason. "We've only known each other two weeks!" A rather weak reason to be honest.

"So?"

"So, don't you think that's a little soon?" I really was grasping at the proverbial straws here.

The truth was I didn't really know why I was so reluctant to meet her. More than anything I suppose I was nervous. It's like when you first go to meet your boyfriend's parents. Not that I thought about Charles in that way because that would be weird; he was more like a brother. It was a similar scenario though; you just had to replace "boyfriend" with "friend" and "parents" with "sister-who-isn't-really-his-sister-but-rather-just-a-person-he-found-stealing-from-his-fridge-that-he-offered-to-give-a-home-to". I was just so scared that she wouldn't like me, I suppose. From the way Charles spoke about her she really did mean the world to him and her opinion clearly mattered. I could only hope that we would reach that stage in our friendship. But if his sister didn't like me, would that change his opinion of me too? Would he not like me anymore? I didn't want that to happen. We'd only known each other two weeks and I felt such a strong connection with him. He was the first true friend I'd ever had.

Clearly having heard the thoughts running through my head, his face softened and he smiled at me reassuringly.

"You know I wouldn't do that." He whispered so quietly that I could barely hear him from where he was sat.

The amount of emotion in that one softly spoken sentence was all I needed to here.

I smiled and nodded at him. "I know."

Quickly switching seats so he was now sat next to me on the same bench, he reached over my shoulder to put his arm around me. "And I'm sure she'll love you." He comforted me, giving my shoulder a quick squeeze.

I turned in his arms to directly face him and shyly smiled. "I hope so." I mumbled nervously.

"She will." He insisted, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.

That was another thing that I loved about our relationship. We were never afraid of physical contact like is usual between a man and a woman. It was never awkward when we touched each other; hugging each other and such was completely normal and just felt natural to us. I'd never really had that sort of easy going intimacy in a friendship before and it was something that I loved experiencing with him.

Finally making my mind up, I grinned. "Okay."

"Okay?" He repeated, as if it was too much to think that I would just agree so easily. But I really did want to meet her. I was just anxious as to what she would think about me.

I prodded his nose playfully. "Yes, okay. I will meet her if it means that much to you."

He looked so delighted and his eyes just seemed to sparkle with happiness. "Thank you." He replied genuinely, leaning in to kiss my cheek.

My cheeks flushed red where he'd kissed me. As close as we were, he'd never done that before. Nobody had. I ducked my head so that my hair could fall in front of me to hide my rosy face. Charles just laughed and grabbed my hand, pulling me up to stand with him.

"Let's not waste any time then!" He said cheerfully, pulling me by my hand.

"What? We're going now?" I yelled over the wind as we ran to the dormitories.

Not breaking his stride, he looked back at me with a grin. "You don't have to be anywhere, do you?"

"Well…no." I admitted. I just wasn't expecting to meet her so soon. I expected to at least have a day or two to mentally prepare myself before being thrown into the proverbial dragon's lair.

Charles laughed. "You'll be fine!"

So the two of us ran through the courtyard together, laughing and attracting some very odd looks. But I didn't care. He never failed to cheer me up and I always had a blast when I was with him. If remaining his friend meant meeting his "sister" then I would do it. Anything that it took, I would do it to make him happy.

"Perhaps this isn't such a good idea." I muttered, now faced with the door to his dorm.

He gave my hand (which he was still holding) an affectionate squeeze and gave me a tender look. "You'll be fine." He told me for what felt like the hundredth time.

Letting go of my hand, he placed them both on my shoulders and looked me straight in the eye. "Are you ready?" He asked me for the last time.

I nodded. "No."

"Good," He smiled brilliantly. "She's going to love you."

Merely groaning, I let him drag me reluctantly into his dorm with one arm around my shoulders.

You could definitely tell it was Charles's dorm. Classy and understated with entire bookshelves full of texts on biology, genetics and psychology and with a very expensive looking chess board in the corner. Yet, at the same time, you could still tell it was very much so a bachelor pad. There were plates and pans all over the kitchen area and a lot of the books that were supposed to be on the shelves were strewn across the sofas, tables and the floor along with dozens of papers he'd written.

"Sorry about the mess." He apologized with an embarrassed smile.

I waved it off. "It's fine." If anything, it made me feel slightly more relaxed. It definitely felt like a home.

He chuckled and retracted his arm from around my shoulders. "Just wait here for one moment." He asked of me and walked across to a closed door across the room. Knocking on it lightly he smiled it me before yelling for his sister to come out and meet me. He walked over to put an arm around me again when his "sister" entered the room with a confused look.

Her beauty did not help my nervousness. Long, wavy blonde hair and tall with long legs like you didn't seen in real life, it was quite intimidating for someone like me to be in the same room as her. She had such a powerful presence, one of a strong, sexy and independent woman. One who would certainly be able to keep Charles on his toes. I found myself admiring her before I even knew her.

Seeing Charles arm around me her eyes narrowed slightly and all the positive imagery I connected with her flew out the window along with whatever amount of confidence I may or may not have had.

"Who is she?" She asked almost hostilely with her arms crossed, like I wasn't welcome there.

I shrank further into Charles's arm to hide myself from her daunting gaze. Calm yourself. I heard his soft voice reassure me in my head. Not even he could stop that sickening feeling that I felt though. I didn't like people not liking me. It was not something that I had ever really experienced before, especially not after having known someone for all of one minute.

"Raven this is my friend Abigail Beckett." He said, putting extra emphasis on the word "friend" while giving her a warning look that clearly said "play nice". All Raven did was sceptically raise an eyebrow. "Abi, this is my sister, Raven Darkholme."

Raven casually sauntered across the room and held a hand out for me to shake. "Hello." She said, though there was no warmth in the usual greeting.

I wiggled my way out from under Charles's arm and accepted the handshake with an unsure smile.

"What's she doing here?" She asked him bitterly with a look that clearly said "I don't want her here".

For the first time I saw Charles look quite irritated and his jaw tightened when he replied. "Because she's my friend." He said simply.

There was a silence throughout the room as the two stared at each other, seeming to have some sort of mental conversation with their eyes.

"Fine." She spat out finally. "I have to go anyways." And with that she grabbed her coat giving me one last nasty look and left.

Feeling rather awkward just stood in the middle of the room, I watched as Charles huffed and ran his hands through his hair.

"I am so sorry about that." He apologized with exasperation clear in his voice. "I don't know what's gotten into her. I swear I'll take to her later."

I forced myself to smile. "No it's fine." I replied unconvincingly.

"No it isn't." He insisted. Now he seemed to be quite angry as he approached me. "She has no right to treat you that way."

He drew me into a tight hug to which I couldn't think of any appropriate way to respond to other than half-heartedly linking my hands around his back.

My first meeting with his "sister" had not gone well as I had feared. His eyes widened as he realized where my train of thought was taking me.

"This does not change anything between us alright? I'm going to be your friend whether she likes it or not." He swore resolutely with that trademark cheeky grin on his face.

I grinned back but my heart wasn't in it as I'm sure he knew. Without his "sister's" approval, how we were supposed to spend time together? Would we forever have to meet at awkward times and places to avoid her? Would we forever be confined to hanging out in my dorm instead of his? Without his "sister's" support, our entire friendship was thrown into question.

I didn't understand at the time why she didn't like me. I hadn't given her any reason not to like me. That was the thing. My very existence was a threat to her. I just didn't see that at the time. All I saw was a beautiful young woman who was being horrible to me for no reason. Perhaps some of her fears did have some sort of reasoning behind them. I couldn't protect him when it counted. I couldn't protect her. She has every reason to hate me now. I'm so sorry Raven.