Just to let y'all know, I put some pictures on my profile if you want references as to what the girls look like. I am so grateful for all the reviews and subscription alerts I got in my mail! I definitely wasn't expecting for this story to take off like that, so thank you!
Marianne turned another page in the book, her eyes traveling over the words as she absorbed them, the sky blue orbs widening in surprise as the plot thickened. The cushion sank as someone sat down next to her, and after finishing that paragraph she turned her head and smiled at Hank, who had just finished examining the other girls.
"I've got good news and bad news, which do you want first?" Marianne set her book down and looked at him, pointing her thumb upwards. "The good news is that you're all healthy. Except for a few cuts or bruises, you four are healthy as a horse." Her eyebrows raised and she pointed her thumb downwards. "The bad news is that I don't think Charles will be letting you leave any time soon." He smiled slyly and Marianne grinned at the joke, shoving him a little and rubbing her fingers together in a "shame on you" sort of way.
He laughed and craned his neck to look at her book. "Treasure Island?" She blushed a little and nodded. "It's a good read, I'm glad you picked it." She smiled again and bit her lip, grabbing the book and holding it out to him. She pointed at him, then at herself, then at the book. "What? You want me to read to you?" She smiled a little and nodded, blushing again. "Well alright, I suppose I'll read to you." She grinned as he took the book from her hand, and he had to suppress a jump when she suddenly curled up right next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Hank was shocked. Nobody had ever been this close to him; nobody had ever been brave enough. And yet here was Marianne, her head on his shoulder and her breath rustling the hair on the exposed parts of his chest. Suddenly feeling very confident, Hank reached over and lightly placed his arm around her shoulders. He felt as if he was dealing with eggshells, that one wrong move or one too-hard squeeze could shatter her completely.
Maybe it could.
Hank cleared his throat and she pointed to the paragraph she was about to begin on, resting that hand on his stomach. A small smile appeared on his lips and he began to read. "'Then followed a battle of looks between them; but the captain soon knuckled under, put up his weapon, and resumed his seat, grumbling like a beaten dog'," she giggled at this, and when Hank looked back down he saw that her eyes had slipped closed, the smile still on her lips. The smile on his own lips grew wider as he looked back up at the book and continued to read, oblivious to the two mutants that entered the lounge next.
Alex pulled Elisabeth into the lounge, where Hank was reading quietly to Marianne, who was fearlessly curled up against him. "What are we doing?" Elisabeth asked curiously, sort of liking the feel of his hand grasping hers.
"I want to show you something." She smiled and allowed her to pull him to the pinball game, where he held out his hands and said, "Ta-da!" She laughed and pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear, looking at it strangely.
"What is this?" she questioned, running her hands over the glass top.
"You've never played pinball?" Alex asked incredulously. "You've been missing out, Elle." She bit back a smile at the nickname he had adopted for her and walked over to it, playing with the little lever on the front.
"Then teach me," she said with a sly smile and Alex's cheeks grew red as he shrugged and started the machine, walking behind her.
"It's really pretty simple," he said, putting his hands over her own. "You just pull back this lever, which starts it. When you let go, the little ball shoots up and you use the buttons on the side to keep it in play. You lose when the ball falls past those two levers." Alex guided her hands up, leaning over to do so, and placed her fingers on the buttons, pressing down to make her push them. Being so close to her, he accidentally breathed in the scent of her hair. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it smelled like vanilla.
"I like this game," she said, turning her head to look at him. The space between their faces was small, and it made Elisabeth blush and smile. "Thanks for showing it to me." The corners of Alex's mouth quirked.
"Anytime." Her smiled grew wider, and the two were unaware of the pair in the kitchen, watching them.
"They'll be together by the end of the week," Sean concluded, taking a sip of his water.
"I agree," Lucy replied, holding up her hand. Sean grinned and slapped his against hers before they continued watching the pair play the pinball game. "I had always thought that it was a one player game."
"It is," he said with an eye roll, "Alex is just acting like a love-sick moron." Lucy chuckled and stirred her spoon around in her empty mug, which had once been filled with tea.
"I'm sure you've acted the same way at some point in your life, Sean." He snorted a little.
"Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, Short-Hair." Lucy frowned and subconsciously raised a hand to her hair, running her fingers through it. "It was a joke Lucy."
"I know, it's just that everyone always comments on it. Mostly bad things." Sean reached over and grasped a light brown curl between his thumb and index finger, shrugging.
"I like it, it suits you. It's different, you don't really see it everywhere you look. Sort of pretty. A lot like you." Lucy blushed and grinned.
"Hey Sean, guess what?"
"What?" She leaned forward, her light green eyes boring into his blue ones.
"You're acting like a love-sick moron," she whispered, tapping the tip of his nose with her finger. "I'll be working out if you need me." She stood from her seat and ruffled his hair, walking out of the kitchen. Sean sighed dreamily and touched the spot on his nose she had tapped.
"She so wants me," he mumbled.
Lucy walked down the hallway past the garden, where Rosabelle was lounging with the paper and a cup of tea, her dark hair pulled over one shoulder. The door opened and Charles stepped out into the sunlight.
"Hello Charles," she greeted, not even looking up at him. "Nice day, isn't it?"
"It is indeed. Do you mind if I join you?" She made a sound in the back of her throat and waved her hand at the seat next to her, which Charles sat down in. He stared out at the land in front of them, admiring how the grass looked especially green today.
"Would you like some tea?" she asked and he nodded. She waved her hand and the teapot lifted on its own, pouring Charles a cup of tea. "Cream or sugar?"
"No I'm alright, thank you." She nodded and fanned herself with the paper, crossing one leg over the other. He glanced over at her and cleared his throat. "How long have you and the girls known each other?"
"About four or five years."
He smiled a little. "I think Alex has taken a liking to Elisabeth." Rosabelle laughed a little, nodding.
"I believe the feeling is mutual. You should hope that he doesn't hurt her, or he'll have to deal with Marianne, Lucy, and I." He smiled before going serious, turning in his seat to face her.
"May I ask something?" Rosabelle tilted her head to the side.
"What would you like to know?"
"What happened to the four of you?" Her already pale skin went paler and she stood, blinking a little.
"I refuse to talk about that to anyone, let alone a stranger that I've only known for a day." She opened the door and walked into the house. Charles sighed and stood, running after her.
Rosabelle walked briskly past the door of the lounge, Charles not far behind and saying, "Rosabelle wait! Stop!" Elisabeth looked over her shoulder and raised a brow, smirking a little and looking back over at Alex, who was shaking his head.
"Yeah…he'll do that." Elisabeth giggled a little, looking back over to Alex.
"I really am sorry about what happened this morning. I didn't mean to attack you." Alex chuckled.
"It's okay, it didn't even really hurt that much. Besides, you're too cute to stay mad at." Elisabeth rolled her eyes and shoved him as Sean walked into the lounge, peeking over the back of the couch.
"Oi, you two! C'mere!" They hurried over to where he was and peeked over the back of the couch, Elisabeth grinning at the sight. Hank was lying on the couch with his back against the cushions, snoring lightly. Curled up against him was Marianne, her chest rising and falling slowly as she slept. Hank had his arm around her waist and the trio staring at them had a feeling he wasn't about to let go anytime soon.
"How adorable!" Elisabeth said, giggling a little.
"Marianne is one brave woman," Alex muttered, and Sean nodded in agreement.
"…I'm bored now, so I'll be off pestering Lucy."
"She'll bite you," Elisabeth called, but Sean simply waved his hand dismissively, continuing down the hall towards the work-out room. He poked his head in and found her working on the weights, the metal clanking together when she moved them. She was dressed in only a sports bra and sports pants, and Sean fought to keep his breathing even. He knocked twice and she turned her head, smiling a little as she set down the weights. She grabbed the nearby towel and draped it around her neck, sitting up.
"Hey Sean," she greeted. He walked over and sat down next to her.
"Hank and Marianne," was all he said, and her green eyes widened. "Yeah, I know."
"That…is actually kind of cute. The Beauty and the Beast, if you will." He smiled and nodded.
"Elisabeth said you would bite me if I bothered you." Lucy sighed dramatically and shook her head.
"That was one time! One time!" He laughed and patted her shoulder.
"I'm planning on making dinner soon, you wanna help?"
"No." He frowned a little.
"Alright then, I suppose I'll have to drag you." Before Lucy could respond, Sean had stood and thrown the smaller of the two over his shoulder, her shrieks and laughter echoing down the hall.
"Sean! Sean put me down!" He carried her past Rosabelle's room, where Charles had his forehead pressed against the door.
"Rosabelle, please open the door," he mumbled for about the fifth time, placing his hand on the wood of the door. "I'm sorry I asked about that. I didn't know you would react like you did." After a few moments of silence he sighed. "I don't want to use my telepathy against you, but I will."
"You stay out of my head!" Rosabelle shouted, but nonetheless the bed creaked and there were footsteps. Charles back up from the door as it opened, revealing a bleary-eyed Rosabelle standing in the doorway.
"Oh, my dear," he whispered, and slowly pulled her into a hug. Contrary to what he had thought, she didn't resist. She merely buried her face in his chest with her arms pressed between the two of them. "I'm so, so sorry." He gripped her arms and held her at arm's length. "I'm so sorry." She smiled and wiped at her eyes.
"It's alright, you really had no idea what to expect from me when asking that. I shouldn't have overreacted."
"No, no, you had every right to act like that. I know how men can be when presented with something as extraordinary as you four." She smiled, her cheeks growing red. "Come along, Sean is cooking dinner with the assistance of Lucy, and we best not be late." He placed his hand on her back and closed the door, leading her towards the kitchen.
"I still don't trust you," she told him, now serious. He smiled a little.
"I can live with that for now."
I'm not too sure about this one, it's sort of slow and rambling. But I didn't want to start over, because there were parts in this chapter that I wanted to keep, but I couldn't do that without keeping the whole chapter in there….so yeah. Another big thanks to everyone who reviewed and subscribed, I really appreciate it!