AN: I'm back guys! I didn't realize how long it's been since I've updated, but I've been buckling down on my studies with the semester ending soon. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this long overdue chapter!
It was early morning at the Xavier Mansion and I just finished my morning cup of coffee, when I began walking around the mansion. The sound of light clinking could be heard from Hank's lab and I peeped my head in to see Hank peering down a microscope. I raised my fist and briskly rapped on the lab door which startled Hank in his chair. He looked up from the instrument and flashed me a shy smile.
I entered the lab and crossed my arms together, "What are you doing up so early?" I asked, sliding onto a stool across from Hank.
"Oh, you know how the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm," Hank answered, letting out a nervous chuckle.
I cocked my eyebrow, but didn't say anything as I stretched myself out, "Well, Hank you can have all them," I quipped, with a smile on my face.
"Why are you up?" Hank questioned, shifting in his seat.
"My body woke up and I couldn't go back to sleep, no matter how hard I tried to force myself," I answered shrugging, as my eyes did a quick glance at the microscope in front of me. "You know Hank, I've been wondering about something," I stated, placing both my arms on the table.
"And what would that be?"
"This serum you're making. It doesn't affect abilities right? Just appearance? Normalizes it?" I questioned him and he gave a small nod. "Why do you hate your mutation so much?" I asked inquisitively.
"Well, where to start? I have huge monkey feet, they're an eyesore to look at," Hank explained darkly, looking down at his shoes.
"Don't!" I scold him and he looked up at me in surprise. "Never say that about yourself Hank. I'm sure there are benefits to your mutation," I commented, trying to get him to see a bright side. "All mutations do," I added, nodding my head.
Hank scoffed slightly, "Like what? Earning another demeaning nickname?" Hank deadpanned, placing his hands on the table.
"It's not like you're alone in this," I pointed out, but Hank still looked at me unsurely.
"But you have an amazing gift Claudia. You are extremely lucky," Hank reasoned.
"Hey, even the best of powers can have cons," I tell him in an off handed tone. "For most of my life I thought my empathy was a curse. I hated it," I added, balling my fist up.
"Okay, so explain it to me. You asked me so I'll ask you," Hank began. "Why would you hate your abilities?" He questioned.
I sit up straight and fold my leg underneath me, "Once upon a time I wasn't fully in control of my empathic and telekinetic powers. With me, I get emotions, and emotions are real whether they truly are or not. I become the person in a way so much deeper than a telepath could. I am not them, but I am no longer me," I explained, pausing so I could catch my breath. "It was exhausting, the constant migraines I had, not to mention the shields I built to block everyone's emotions worked sporadically," I continued, looking down at the black top of the table. "You have no idea what it's like to be afraid of the damage that you could potentially do because of the powers your born with. But...all of that changed when I met him...my mentor," I finished, looking back up at Hank with a slight frown on my face.
"It sounds as though you don't like him very much,"
"That's thing I shouldn't like him, but yet in some twisted way, I owe him everything," I confided quietly. "If it weren't for him, I would have never been able to master my abilities. Hell, even when he was mentoring me I think we just scratched the surface of what I can do. It's probably for the best though, who knows what kind of trouble I would've gotten into or caused," I stated, a mirthless laugh escaping my lips.
"But you could never hurt anyone, you're too kind," Hank insisted, as if it was obvious. I let out a faint laugh, and Hank furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Why did you laugh at that?" Hank questioned.
"Very rarely have I been called 'kind', that's why I laughed. It's just nice to hear it for a change," I explained, shrugging my shoulders.
Hank nodded his head understandingly and we sat in a comfortable silence. My eyes moved from Hank to the window behind him, my eyes focusing on the magnificent array of gold and pink that colored the landscape before me. It was strange, to be able to slightly let my guard down and become relaxed around Hank, or anyone in the mansion and let them get to know me more. It felt nice to finally have friends.
I focused my gaze back to Hank only to find that he was looking down awkwardly at the floor.
"What is it?" I asked with concern and he fumbled about with his hands not sure to say.
"Claudia, while I sympathize with your plight and what you've gone through, it's still different. I mean, even though you're a mutant your still beautiful, people can't see your mutation and they wouldn't think of you as a freak. They would see you as a goddess," He spoke stubbornly.
"Thank you Hank, I'm flattered," I chuckled, a gentle smile gracing my face. "But I can tell you that not everyone in this world holds that same sentiment," I informed him with a small laugh.
"Well then their blind," Hank stated, a chuckle escaping his lips. He momentarily dropped his stare down to the table before he looked back at me. "Look Claudia, I-uh, I promised myself that I'd find a cure ever since I was a little boy," Hank went on. "And I'm glad you don't care what my feet look like, but it's how I feel," Hank told me with a sigh, the two of us glance at the blood sample that Hank was studying.
Unfolding my leg I stood up from my stool and waltzed over to Hank, "You know Hank, you're quite stubborn," I mused, letting out a sigh of my own. "But it's your choice, Hank," I added smiling, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He nodded, "Thank you," He replied, a sigh of relief escaping him.
I pulled him into a side hug, "That doesn't mean I don't like it though," I muttered, making Hank chuckle.
I wearily trudged to the door and opened it to find the hallway almost leering at me, like it was speaking to me. Shaking it off, I stepped out into the even chillier air and made my way down to the lab from hell where the Devil incarnate himself was waiting for me. I do not have the energy for this today, then again…when have I ever? When I heard him commanding me to be in the lab in two minutes or to suffer the consequences. I considered staying in my room, wanting to aggravate him, but decide against it, not wanting to stretch it too terribly much. So, on shaky legs I continued my miserable journey to the basement of-
"Claudia," my head snapped to the side at the sound of my name being called, my eyes slightly wide. Blue eyes and dark hair. Charles. "Are you alright?" He asked softly, standing next to me. "You had a faraway look in your eyes," Charles commented. "And you also started to make some items in here levitate," Charles added quietly.
Charles opened his mouth again to speak, but all I could hear was my blood pumping in my veins and I closed my eyes tightly to try and calm down, my head swimming with images of my past. My eyes glanced back over to the window I was in front of and stared through the glass pane, it promised to be a beautiful day. Clear skies, temperature below 60, but still warm enough for us to enjoy. I wasn't there now. I was here. Here, staying in a house that belonged to Charles Xavier. I was as far away from that life as humanely possible. I would never do anything I didn't want to do ever again.
"Claudia?"
I looked over to Charles again, "I'm fine," I breathed, not even realizing that my fingernails were digging into my palms until Charles gently took my right fist and pried it open before doing the same with my left."I was just...thinking. That's all," I answered, flashing him a faux smile.
It was another skill I mastered over the years, hiding my true emotions. If I were to let them show, people would see me as weak. I turned around fully to see Erik and Moira already staring at me, both of them with different expressions. Moira was visibly concerned, while Erik's lips were pressed together creating a thin line. His eyes, they were guarded, as if he wasn't certain what to think of this situation. Or maybe Erik was always like this. It's hard to tell with him.
I looked back over to Charles, "Please, continue," I stated, motioning my hand for him to speak.
Charles gave me a slight nod and cleared his throat, "As I was previously saying, the wings aren't ready yet. Hank has informed me that he has to put the last touches on them today," Charles announced, looking between the three of us.
"What wings?" I thought.
Moira ran a hand through her straight brown locks, "It's no secret that Sean has a talent for destroying property, but isn't it counterproductive to throw him out a window of what we're trying to accomplish here?" Moira asked, letting out a sigh.
"Wait, we're throwing Sean out of a window?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "I would love to know the logic behind this," I stated, a grin now on my face.
"Charles and Hank apparently think he can fly," Moira explained, looking at me.
I folded my arms together, "Unless I'm mistaken, Sean's only power is his supersonic scream," I reminded, staring at Charles. "How does flying coincide with his ability?" I asked curiously.
"It's the sound waves that Sean emits," Charles began. "When his sound waves hit supersonic they'll carry him," Charles finished.
"Interesting," I nodded my head, I slowly turned back around and stared out of the window again. My attention focused on the towering satellite on Charles' land, as I lifted my right thumb to my lip, sensing that this conversation was over.
"Charles, I've been meaning to ask more about your ideas for training," Moira announced, standing up from her seat.
"Ah, yes! I would love to talk about that," Charles answered happily, I could envision his eyes lighting up at the opportunity to discuss his ideas. "We'll talk it over a cup of tea, yes?" Charles proposed.
"Sounds lovely," Moira agreed.
I heard the two of of them leaving the room, but didn't bother turning around. My eyes were still trained outside, softly biting my thumb. How did I let this happen to me? I thought I was over of what happened in the past. All it took was me to mention him and suddenly the band-aid that was placed on my wound was ripped off and I'm back to being to that frightened girl I once was.
"Are you alright, Claudia?" Erik asked, breaking me out of my reverie. I didn't say anything or look his way. Just nodded. Suddenly, he was in front of me, and I inhaled deeply, and I involuntarily took a step back. "Look at me," Erik said gently, and I refused to do so. That was until I felt two rough, calloused fingers lift my chin. "Something troubles you Claudia, I don't need to be a mind reader to know that. Your posture and your face are all the evidence I need," Erik finished, as my brown eyes met his blue ones.
"I'm fine," I answered, pushing his hand away. "Just like I said earlier," I insisted, before turning around to leave the room as well.
I was not in the mood to talk. Not about this.
At the doorway of Charles' study I stopped, "Stop fretting over me Erik, you're gonna give yourself a heart attack," I warned, before walking into the hallway.
I hadn't taken more than a few steps when I spotted my shape-shifting friend turning down the same hallway I was.
"Afternoon Raven," I greeted, mustering up a small smile on my face. Raven didn't return my warm expression as she walked past me, and I cocked my head while furrowing my eyebrows. I turned on my heel and stared at Raven's back. "Raven!" I called, walking at a quick speed to catch up with her as she went down another hallway. "Hey!" I called again, this time grasping her arm. "Have I done something to upset you?" I asked, releasing her arm.
"I just don't understand why you are doing what you're doing," Raven murmured.
"What?" I asked, my face scrunched up in confusion.
"I get that you and Charles have a thing going on, but why isn't that good enough for you?" Raven asked lowly, but the anger was evident in her voice. I scoffed as Raven finally turned around to face me. "You know, I've been noticing that you and Erik have been acting too friendly to be just friends and you just brushed it off saying it was nothing. But now it seems you turned sights on Hank-"
I waved my hands in the air, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I interjected, my eyes widening at Raven's accusation. "Raven, what the hell are you talking about?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. "If you're insinuating what I think you are, first of all how dare you! Second of all, I am most certainly not doing what you're accusing of me of," I stated, defending myself. "Where did this all come from? I thought we were friends!" I reminded, crossing my arms against my chest.
"It's just that, that," Raven began, but ended up letting out a frustrated groan and running a hand through her long, blonde hair.
My face softened and reached my arm out to Raven and gently grabbed her arm, "What is bothering you, Raven?" I asked, the anger inside of me ebbing away as I was truly curious what made her have such an outburst towards me.
"You are! You're so perfect," Raven sighed, frustration written all over her face. "Perfect face, perfect powers, perfect body," Raven listed, almost spitefully.
"Oh, come on Raven, nobody is perfect," I corrected gently, forcing back a smile as I thought back to when Charles and I were discussing the same thing. "I have my imperfections just like everyone else," I assured, giving her arm a slight squeeze.
"Where are they, because I don't see them," Raven disagreed, shaking her head and then crossing her arms. "You're just saying that to make me feel better," Raven grumbled.
I smiled slightly, "Truly, I am not," I replied, shaking my head. I exhaled deeply. "Well, I hope yelling at me got whatever that was plaguing you out," I mused, crossing my arms.
Raven put her head in her hands, "I'm sorry," Raven sighed, lifting her head back up to face me. "It's just that I saw and heard you with Hank this morning and my mind just created so many stupid scenarios," Raven explained, her face flushed with embarrassment. "And then I saw you and Erik, but I turned ar-" Raven rambled on.
"I'm sorry Raven, but I'm beginning to notice a pattern here," I chimed in, raising an eyebrow. "Are you following me around?" I asked, my expression turning serious now.
"No!" Raven exclaimed quickly. "Well, at least not on purpose. This morning I went to check on Hank's progress with the serum and then I saw you two hugging and just now I saw you and Erik very close to each other," Raven explained, lowering her gaze to the decorative rug covering the wooden floor. "Just like when you were sparring," Raven added quietly, before raising her eyes to meet mine.
"Look Raven, despite what you think I do not have an objective of being with every man in the house, okay? The mansion is predominantly male, so yes, it's going to be more common that I'm talking to someone of the opposite gender," I explained, placing my hands on hips. "Makes sense now?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.
Raven nodded her head, "Oh God, I'm so sorry, Dia," Raven apologized again. "I can't believe I was that stupid to even think that of you," Raven groaned, hiding her face in her hands temporarily. Raven uncovered her face, "C'mon, let me make you lunch. It's the least I can do," Raven offered, letting out a laugh.
"It certainly is,"
~~~x~~~
"You know what I just adore about you, my dear Claudia? I can break you every night, and you'll still be a viable subject by the next morning,"
I threw punches at the punching bag as if the source of all my bottled up pain was actually here, standing right in front of me. I struck the bag as fast and hard as I could attempting to release all my pent up frustration. Why won't these God forsaken memories just disappear from my mind. I was angry. Frustrated. Upset. Ashamed. Embarrassed. My behavior was unacceptable. I was a broken, scared little girl. I was pathetic. I could never help save the world.
I was so fucking weak.
Never ending questions nagged at my brain as I furiously punched, ignoring the blood dripping off my knuckles.
"Claudia, stop before I make you stop," a velvety voice from behind me ordered.
I turned my head slightly and there stood Erik in his grey sweatsuit, "I'm fine," I stated simply wiping my knuckles on my pants, and positioning myself to continue training once more.
Erik stepped in front of the punching bag, grabbed my wrists in a firm, but not painful grip and pulled me into him, his steely blue eyes gazing intently into my own assessing me like a predator would it's prey.
"You had a thousand stare earlier, slightly lost control of your telekinesis, and now your beating a punching bag until your fists are raw and bloody," Erik pointed out, glancing at my bloodied fists. "And you honestly think that you're fine?" Erik asked, arching a brow and dropping my hands.
"Didn't I tell you to stop worrying about me?" I asked back, annoyed that he wouldn't leave well enough alone.
"But that's what friends do, we worry about each other," Erik informed, folding his arms together. "You would do the same for me, I hope," Erik added, a small smile forming on his lips.
I took a deep breath and slowly nodded in agreement.
"Come on, I'll clean those up for you," Erik said simply, leading me out of the gym and into a small white room which looked like a small medical bay he lead me over to sink and carefully cleaned my wounds then applied some anesthetic cream. "Sorry if it hurts," Erik apologized quietly, surprising me with his thoughtfulness. I found myself unintentionally smiling to myself. "What's so funny?" Erik questioned with a small smile, finishing up with the bandages.
"It's just that...when we first met, I thought you were the biggest asshole known to man," I began, with a smile of my own. "But now I know that's not true, it's good to know that you're a nice man after all," I finished, pushing off from the sink.
"You think I'm a nice guy, I'm flattered truly I am," Erik replied cheekily. "Any other first impressions you had about me that I should know about?" Erik questioned, arching his brow in amusement while walking out of the door.
"Well, I also thought you were pretty handsome," I began, and Erik' face lit up with what looked like amusement. "But your personality soon negated all of your attractiveness," I added, with a smirk on my lips as I left the small room as well.
Suddenly Erik lifted me up and spun me around.
"Erik! Stop! Friends don't do this!" I said between laughs while attempting to escape his grasp.
"Some friends do!" He countered with a wink. "Now with me being a friend to Claudia, I have to wonder where the real Claudia is. Two compliments within a minute apart, I find that suspicious," Erik remarked, and let out a laugh.
"Erik! Put me down right now!" I scolded, with a smile on my face even though I hated the fact I'd lost control of the situation so easily. From over Erik's shoulder I saw Charles at the end of the hallway with a raised eyebrow. "Charles!" I called, a smile still on my face. "My knight in shining armor, come save me!" I exclaimed, reaching my arm out towards Charles and laughing.
"Don't listen to her Charles, this is just a lookalike. She has been too kind to me today, this can't possibly be the Claudia we know!" Erik claimed, his laughter vibrating against me.
Charles chuckled as well as he followed behind us, "You know Erik, I think you might be on to something," Charles agreed, smiling at me.
"Charles!" I called again, my mouth opened in shock that he took Erik's side instead of mine and Charles just shrugged an amused expression still on his face. I rolled my eyes and grinned myself before turning my attention back to the metal bender carrying me to the living room. "Hey, let me go!" I ordered, lightly hitting Erik's back with my fist.
"Fine," Erik answered simply.
In an instant I landed hard on the floor with a thud. I watched as Erik walked down the hallway laughing all the way. He dropped me? He knew exactly what I meant when I told him to put me down. The audacity of him to do that. I'd show him, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will have the last laugh.
Charles extended his hand out towards me, "It seems you've taken a tumble, my dear," Charles remarked smiling.
I grabbed it and hopped to my feet, "Yeah, no thanks to that asshole," I commented, nodding my head in the direction of Erik.
"Ah, it seems we were wrong," Charles began with a chuckle. "There's the Claudia we know," Charles finished, leading me into the living room and I rolled my eyes again.
I spotted Erik standing with a relaxed posture, his hands in his pockets as he waited for Charles and I. He smirked at me and I just slid my index finger across my throat.
"Well, since the two of you are here, I wanted to test an idea out I had with your powers," Charles started, looking at me. "Claudia, I've been thinking about your empathic powers. We know you can use your 'persuasive' ability on people verbally. I want you to inside Erik's mind and give him an order without speaking,"
"What do you want me to make him do?"
Charles hesitated and looked at Erik, "What do you feel comfortable doing?"
Erik thought for a moment, "Nothing that will cause me extreme bodily harm," Erik answered, giving me a knowing glance.
Fine, I'd think of something else. I closed my eyes and lifted my mental shields as the confusion, curiousness, and a hint of tiredness sparked through my mind from Erik's. An idea popped in my head and I smiled to myself. I opened my eyes and stared at Erik unflinchingly which he returned, I cocked my head to the side and began my work with Erik's brain.
"You're feeling tired," I began. "Very tired," I added.
Erik let out a yawn as I furrowed my brow in concentration.
"You feel dead on your feet, you should have a seat right now," I suggested. "The chair behind you is just calling your name," I continued.
I pushed my suggestion into his head and Erik squatted down as if to sit down on the chair. But there wasn't a chair, so he fell to the floor on his ass. Erik looked up at me and glared.
I smiled triumphantly, "It's what you deserve," I commented, content with myself.
Charles was happy as well, "Excellent!" Charles cheered, before holding his hand out to Erik to helping him back to his feet.
"Am I done being the test dummy?" Erik asked, an annoyed expression on his face.
"Yes, you were a great help just now," Charles answered cheerfully, Erik shot me one last glare before he left and I stuck my tongue at him childishly. "A bit of fresh air will do the body good, don't you think?" Charles questioned, sticking his hand for me to leave the room first.
"I do," I concurred, making my way out of the room and towards the doors that led to the stone deck.
I pushed the door opened and the fresh late afternoon almost evening air was such a relief. An immense amount of sudden stress completely wiped me out already. The door behind me closed with a soft click from Charles and walked over next to me.
"What happened to your hands Claudia?" Charles asked, grabbing a hold of them and softly running his thumb across my knuckles.
"I got carried away with the punching bag, that's all. Please don't work up a sweat about me, I just had some steam to blow off," I explained, a reassuring smile on my lips.
Charles' brow furrowed as he looked out into the sprawling greenery that almost resembled the gardens of Versailles. The cool October breeze wrapped around us quite heavily as it sent chills down my spine and blew black strands of hair across my face. Charles noticed how my body reacted from the breeze and quickly took his jacket off and placed around my shoulders.
"Claudia," Charles started, giving his jacket a quick tug making sure I was snug within it. "I want you to know that whatever is bothering you, you don't have to face it alone," Charles reminded gently.
"What makes you think something is bothering me?" I asked, looking up at him.
"You haven't been your usual self, I mean I've barely heard a witty comment from you all day," Charles answered, a slight chuckle escaping his lips.
"It's better that I do though, you know, when it comes to facing my own problems alone," I answered, before looking over at the gardens as well. "I've done it for years now, what's a few more weeks going to change?" I inquired, shrugging my shoulders before turning my attention back to him.
"Everything," Charles answered, placing each of his hands on my shoulders looking straight into my eyes. "It could change everything, Claudia," Charles repeated, rubbing soothing circles on my biceps before his hands slid down my arms.
~~~x~~~
I laid wide awake in bed, my eyes spacing out, my mind somewhere else, I had been awakened by a dream. Not a dream, exactly, more a memory of a rain made of ashes. The stomach-churning scent of the burning bodies still scorched my nostrils whenever I thought about it. I saw a young boy in ragged striped pajamas and there was also a woman who appeared to be middle aged, but she looked so much older than she should. She was filthy and was in ragged pajamas, just like the boy. And there was a man, a man who looked all too familiar...
That's when I heard something. A creaking of sort. I sat up softly, and my eyes glued onto the door, as the sound grew louder, and soon I knew clearly it was footsteps. I got up, and hesitated by my door, until the muffled noises were faint. I crept out my door, and followed the suspect as I caught their shadow turning to the left in the hallway.
With quiet steps, and making sure to be in line with the shadows, I stalked behind whoever it was. Soon I was close enough to try and take out the figure's features. My night vision not being very strong. But before I could even make out their face, a voice spoke.
"I should have known you would follow me," It was hollow, and low.
I stepped into the speck of light the gleaming moon gave off, "Sorry. I was curious as to why you would be up and lurking around past midnight," I responded to Erik, and moved forth towards him.
"Could not sleep. But I should be asking you the same," He stated gravely.
I shrugged, "Got a lot on my mind," I explained lamely.
We stood there, giving moments of awkward silence, then he began to slip away towards the kitchen. His movement gave me a beckoning signal to follow him. Once there, he dug in the fridge, and tugged out a bottle of beer. He glanced over at me once I sat on the island counter watching him. "Want one?" He asked.
I scoffed at him, my brows raised, and expression saying 'seriously?'.
"I'm too much of a lady to drink beer," I quipped.
A soft chuckle erupted from him and he shook his head, as he pulled out a bottle of pop for me. I gladly took it, and he popped off the caps of both drinks. The two of us taking a swig of our bottles.
"So, what was life like for you before Charles and I hunted you down and dragged you here against your will?" Erik asked, his back leaned against the island beside me, as his eyes roamed over the pictures hanging on the wallpapered walls.
I glanced down at my bottle, my right index finger tracing the rim of the bottle, as I stayed mute after hearing his question. It was a long enough silence to notify him, and let him glimpse over at me.
"Or...don't answer my question," He muttered brashly.
I gave a soft sigh, "I lived in South Carolina until I was five, my grandpa was murdered by the KKK, they bombed his bookstore. It was a miracle that I survived," I began, Erik looked over at me, a sympathetic expression painted on his face. "Then we moved to Pennsylvania, and that's what I considered to be home for me. After I graduated high school, I moved to Maryland and attended college. I graduated and now I'm living the American Dream the best that a black woman can," I explained, purposefully excluding certain events that I wasn't ready to share. "Nothing quite special about my life, Erik," I added.
"I'm sorry about your grandfather, Claudia," Erik apologized, placing his beer down. "But I know there's more to your story than that. I know there is something or someone from your past that you're running from. Trust me, I know all the signs," Erik argued softly, and my throat felt awfully dry because of the statement. "If you don't want to tell me about your past, fine. But answer this question for me. Why are you up?" Erik asked again. "And don't tell me another terrible lie," he added.
I sighed, staring into my drink, before answering, seemingly measuring my words, "Sometimes my walls come down when I sleep deeply enough, so my empathy is open. When people have nightmares or sleep fitfully, it can wake me up if the emotional signature is strong enough," I shrugged, a bit embarrassed.
Erik froze, "Do you ever...um...see what people dream?" He scratched the back of his head, projecting nonchalance.
My brown eyes narrowed in speculation on the opening of my bottle, "It depends on if the nightmare is strong enough," I set the bottle down, my eyes sympathetic. "Usually what I see is so fractured that I don't understand it,"
He grunted in his throat in acquiescence, staring at the tabletop, "I've always wondered why Charles never wakes up,"
I shrugged, "Maybe his shields can't drop," I suggested. "He probably made them that way for when he sleeps or needs to block everything, he's had more practice than I. Then again, he's a telepath, so he's working to block thoughts and dreams and such. A person can hide what they think, but rarely can they hide what they feel," I informed.
"That sounded textbook," Erik smirked in humor.
I shrugged, "Probably was," I agreed laughing.
We stood in silence for a moment, before my eyes fell upon his left arm and I noticed some small black numbers. He followed my eyes and extended it fully toward me. The numbers stood out before me almost screaming at me the pain this man has been through.
"He hurt you, didn't he? Shaw did," I stated bravely, looking up from his arm.
"You...You saw what I dreamed, didn't you?" Erik questioned, returning my stare and I silently nodded.
"Sorry," I whispered apologetically, and he just mimicked my nod. "H-How old were you?" I asked quietly. "When-When'd it happen?" I asked again, glancing at his arm.
"I was eleven,"
"Eleven?" I echoed, in shock. "That's so young," I breathed.
"You became a bomb survivor at the age of five," Erik reminded grimly, shaking his head.
Neither of us spoke for several long moments before I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear uncomfortably.
"There was a woman that I saw," I recalled. "Who was she?" I questioned, folding my arms together.
"My mother," he answered, staring at me.
I stood staring back at him unsure of what to say or if I wanted to ask the question that was now burning in the back of my mind. I opened my mouth to speak, but closed it and breathed deeply.
"How did she die, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked softly.
"My family and I were put in a concentration camp, as you know," Erik said quietly. His usual calm demeanor had dropped and now he was sad, almost angry. "It was there were Shaw shot my mother point blank and it was there where I discovered my ability," He answered, his mouth forming a thin line.
I couldn't even imagine witnessing your mother being shot point blank in front of you. It was completely unthinkable and horribly wrong. I shuddered at the thought of him witnessing such a thing.
"I'm sorry, I can't...can't even begin to imagine it,"
As if a sudden electric bolt of realization hit me, I was now aware of why I had woken up suddenly, feeling so...angry, so thirsty for vengeance. It was because Erik wanted Shaw so badly. It was the simple thought of revenge. He wanted to avenge his mother's death to finally be at peace with himself and with the thought of his mother's horrific death.
He blamed himself, but he shouldn't.
I placed a hand on Erik's shoulder for comfort, "We're going to get him," I promised, looking into his blue eyes with a determined stare and he raised his hand covering mine and gave it a soft squeeze.
"There was a never doubt that we wouldn't,"
AN: Here we are at the end of a very long chapter, but you guys deserve it because of my absence. Hope you enjoyed it! And sorry if there are any mistakes!