That night, I went for a jog. I didn't tell my parents, I just went. And I wasn't at all surprised when my feet led me to Cassidy's house. I needed her right now, needed her to be the sister I'd always been to her. I couldn't speak to my parents, I hadn't all day, but maybe I could talk to her. Maybe she would understand.
I didn't go to the front door, though. I did something I hadn't done since we were seven. I went 'round the back, hoping the chain-link fence. Her big lab, Russ, knew me too well to bark. Instead he rushed over to be scratched, jumping eagerly. I calmed him with a few quick pats and a rub behind the ears before jumping up and grabbing onto the low hanging branch of the tall Birch tree. I proceeded to do my best monkey impression by swinging my legs from branch to branch, hauling my way up the rough trunk. Finally, I was on a main branch that extended out just under Cassidy's window. When we were younger, we'd used it to pretend we were Tarzan and Jane in the jungle. When we got older, she used it to sneak out the nights that our group planned…events. Now I was going to use it to bridge the gap growing between me and everyone I cared about.
I tapped lightly on the pane at first, rapping on it harder when I got no initial response. I was growing increasingly worried that I was going to pitch forward and end up falling flat on my ass on the pavement 15 feet below any second, so I ended up banging frantacially on the frame with all my might. Finally the curtains parted and Cassidy opened the window, looking both surprised and a little disgruntled at my strange arrival.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed, making no movement to let me in through the window.
"I needed to talk to you," I told her, a little surprised by her reaction. I thought that of all the people who knew me, she would be accepting. Instead she was just acting like a bitch.
"So call."
"Would you have even picked up the phone?" I demanded, squashing down the anger inside me. The last thing I needed now was a repeat of yesterday.
Glancing past her, into her room, I spied a copy of today's paper open on her desk. The front page contained a giant picture of the damaged school and a large story of yesterday's events, including my name. I really wished they hadn't published that. If so, my cat might have been alive today…
Cassidy refused to meet my eyes, and I was surprised to find sadness echoed in her expression. But it was fleeting, and soon her eyes hard and cold once again.
"I, I don't know. Listen, you hurt…so many people. How…?" She was choking on her words. I decided to throw her a lifesaver.
"Cass, look at me," I ordered her. "You know me…better than anyone, probably. I would never hurt anyone, and you know that. What kind of person do you think I am?" This conversation was not going the way I had hoped, but…oh I don't know what I was hoping for at this point. Maybe that'd she'd look up and I'd see acceptance and friendship in her eyes once again. Instead I saw only anger.
"Zo…I don't know what kind of person you are. I don't even know who you are anymore. You, you killed those kids. You hurt so many people. That's not the you I know."
"I just…just lost control. Can't you understand that?" I pleaded. "I'm not the bad guy here! It was an accident!"
"No! How do you lose control of your body? That's not an excuse!" she screamed, suddenly enraged. She didn't understand!
"Yes it is. You don't know what it's like, waking up one day and realizing that you're a danger to everyone you see. Having this new ability that you can't control-,"
"Wait, you mean you knew you could do this before yesterday?" she asked. I could only nod. "You shouldn't even have been in school! You should have told me…told someone!"
"Why? Why should I have told you anything? Because you could help me? You won't even look at me now. And to think that I thought you, of all people-,"
"Well, you thought wrong!" Her words stung like a swarm of angry bees. "I think you should leave, now."
"Fine! Thanks for all your support!" I screamed back, no longer caring who heard or knew I was here. I turned and began to scramble down the tree to the sound of Cassidy crying softly. Then I was stuck by a sudden, gut wrenching thought. "Justin?" I asked softly, just below her windowsill. At first I thought that she didn't hear me, but then she spoke.
"They," she sobbed, gasping for breath, "they told me he's in a coma. They're not sure he'll wake up." My heart sank. Cassidy and Justin were…had been quickly approaching their sixth month anniversary. She was crazy about him. And now he was gone…because of me. So much pain, all because of me!
I jumped. I didn't care that I was ten feet from the ground or not. I was almost hoping that I broke my leg or ankle or backbone. No such luck, though. My balance got the better of me, and I landed, fell into a crouch, and pitched forward into the grass. I bolted! I was suddenly feeling claustrophobic in the yard, like if I stayed there one second longer I'd burst. I hauled my pretty little ass out of there and never looked back.
So I never saw Cassidy look after me as I ran. And I never heard her whisper,
"I'm so sorry Zo," as the tears ran down her nose.
I never saw her father walk in and put his big, military-built arms around his daughter. Never heard him reassure her,
"You did the right thing, sweetie. It's better this way." Never got to hear her demand,
"Than why do I feel like shit?" And never saw the cold malice burning in her father's eyes as they traced my path across the lawn.
A/N: Chapter 7, here it is. Hope you enjoyed it, now, please offer feedback J But seriously, for those crabby (but to be unnamed people) this story will involve the x-men characters and will have a real plotline, but I believe in character development and this is set to be a long story (looking longer with each chapter) So if you're bored, sorry your SOL. If not, then please stick around, because nothing good can come of what just happened…and nothing good will.