Laura's Journal

An X-Men Evolution Fanfic by Quill N. Inque

I do not own X-Men.

Chapter 10: The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

It rained that morning when Logan pulled away from the bus porch amidst the screeching of tires and the reek of burning rubber, and I thought for a moment that the car was going to start hydroplaning as he sent a fan of water spraying onto the asphalt. I ran the few short steps to the door, not really caring whether I got soaked through or not; getting wet ranked pretty low on my list of problems at the moment, and in any case I had been caught out in the snow and sleet enough times to become inured to the icy water that poured on me in sheets of driving, stinging droplets. The wind shrieked like some kind of injured animal as the trees on the grass threatened to snap in half, and, after checking to make sure no one was around to see, I shut the door behind me and shook myself off like I had seen the wolves and feral dogs do. Water cascaded down the floor and onto the nearby wall, and I felt it sliding down my hair as I pulled strands of it out of my hair and smoothed it behind my ears. I arched my back as I yawned cavernously; Logan, apparently, wasn't at his cognitive best in the morning, and he'd dumped me at school a full ten minutes before the bell was scheduled to go off.

I felt my muscles pulling taut as I stretched, and my tongue curled against the back of my teeth before I finally closed my mouth with a satisfied grunt. The cumbersome backpack on my shoulders shifted slightly as my heavy combat boots clomped on the hallway floor.

I turned to find Chase Lancaster staring at me. Like, really staring, as if I were an object of fascination. I noticed his pupils begin to dilate as well as his eyes roved over me, and I felt a not-entirely-uncomfortable shiver of electricity crawl over my skin.

"What?" I asked, frowning at him.

He stood rooted to the spot. "You're just…so beautiful," he breathed finally, taking a step closer.

I felt as though my cheeks were on fire, and my brain began to sputter like Logan's motorcycle. "Uh…thanks," I said finally, glancing away from him.

"So…" Chase cleared his throat awkwardly. "Have you, uh…decided? About what I-we -talked about yesterday?"

I felt the blood chill in my veins, and my mouth suddenly ran dry. Just come out and say it, idiot! I thought scornfully to myself. Don't just stand there gaping like a fish!

The silence stretched for eternity as I struggled to find my voice, and when I finally did speak, I was humiliated to hear my words crack in mid-sentence. "Yes. I have."

The hope in his eyes made my chest twist. No matter how many misgivings I may have had about what I was about to do, Chase wanted it so badly that I could see the longing pouring off of him.

He didn't speak. I guess Chase realized that I was even more nervous than he was, so he just waited patiently for me to start talking again. I had to hand it to him: he certainly did have patience.

I took a deep breath. "You do realize," I began slowly, "that there are going to be a lot of people who are going to despise you for doing this. The other students will abhor you for having affections for a mutant, and they will shun me for overstepping what could be considered my social boundaries."

Chase nodded grimly. "I know."

"You will probably forfeit your popularity and any influence you may have enjoyed with your peers."

"I know."

"And you will probably lose many of those whom you consider to have been your friends in the past. When word spreads of what you-we-are doing, and it will, it is likely that they will turn away from you. Those who were your allies may become the most implacable of foes."

He looked me right in the face. "I know. I'd give it all up, to be with you."

He…he really does like me, I thought, stunned. "I also want you to know that I don't have any idea what it means to 'date' someone," I continued. "You will probably find that many social etiquettes that people adhere to in situations like that are lost on me."

Chase rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment. "Oh good," he said, grinning wryly. "And here I thought I was the only one."

I stared. "I would think someone as high up in the student hierarchy as you would have experience in such things."

He shook his head. "Nope. You're the first girl I've ever been serious about."

"Why me?" I asked, my voice cracking again.

Chase took another step closer, so that less than a foot separated us from each other. "Because you're different. Because you're special. Unique. You're unlike anyone else I've ever met, Laura."

His arms stretched out to wrap around me, and I instinctively flinched and stepped back as my cheeks turned red. Chase stopped instantly, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. We'll…we'll go at your pace, okay? I don't want to rush you."

"No!" I said, more vehemently than I intended to. If my face got any redder I was halfway convinced that my cheeks would burst into flames. "It's just...no one's ever held me like that before."

"Not even your parents?" he asked, bewildered.

"I live with my father," I shrugged. "I never knew my mother." Because I never had one; I was spawned in a test tube by a group of criminals.

"Is it, uh, okay then?" Chase said as his face turned even redder than mine. That was good; now, at least, I wasn't the only person who was in a strange situation. He looked even more self-conscious than me, if that were possible.

I felt that tingling crackle settle over my arms and legs again, and my heart began to thunder in my chest as Chase's pulse began to quicken. I looked away, my face the color of a tomato, and gave the slightest, most innocuous nod I could. My stomach was flip-flopping all over the place, my head was as hot as a furnace, but I'll be damned if I were going to do this 'dating' thing half-assed, by thunder!

Chase reached out again, and I felt the subtle weight of his hands as he wrapped his arms around my midsection, just above the belt. I felt a slight, gentle pull, and even though alarm bells were going off in my head, I suddenly found myself without the willpower to resist as Chase pulled his body in to lean against mine. His heartbeat melded with my own as the blood pounded deafeningly in my ears, and I felt one of his fingers shake slightly as he began to stroke my still-damp hair.

I just barely managed the urge to gasp.

Oh…I thought silently. That feels…Good…

Chase bent his head so that the crook of his neck fit into mine, and his breathing was as rushed and rapid as my own. My face was getting so hot that I thought my cheeks would burst into flames, and that pleasant, crackling fire that I'd experienced at his first touch now hummed through every cell of my entire body. My knees began to quiver a little, and, as if sensing it, Chase leaned in even closer so that he could support me against him.

I noticed how firm and sturdy he was, like a strong young tree, as I leaned against his chest. Chase, like everyone else, had his own unique scent: his was the smell of "Axe" deodorant, hair gel, and that musky odor that I'd come to associate only with people of the opposite gender. He was certainly better-smelling than Logan, that's for sure.

I felt his lips against my earlobe. "Laura..." he breathed. For Christ's sake, I could smell the joy radiating off of him he was so happy, and for a moment, I wished more than anything else that I would one day feel it with him.

I felt the heat of his body fill me with the kind of warmth you get when you sit in front of a fire after a day out in the cold. My skin felt…alive…where his hands roamed, where his fingers touched. And Chase was so heartbreakingly gentle the way he handled me, as though I were some kind of treasure that would break if he touched me too hard.

That last one was ridiculous of course, but I guess it's the thought that counts.

My chest tightened again, harder this time, as his arms around me tightened just a little bit. This, I assumed, was a possessive/aggressive gesture inherent in males; Chase may have been signaling to anyone who may have been eavesdropping that he had claimed a mate, and any intrusion would not be welcome.

Maybe I was reading too much into it, though. Chase wasn't a wolf, after all; he seemed more similar in personality to a friendly dog like a beagle or something, and perhaps the slight application of pressure was more a gesture of affection than anything else.

Affection? I knew nothing of affection, save for the warped brand of it that Logan had showed me. Chase, it seemed, was willing to give himself utterly to me, and the sheer intensity and spectrum of his infatuation was downright terrifying.

Logan. That thought sent a chill of fear through me. I had to keep Logan from finding out about this at all costs. I would tell him about Chase when I was sure I could gauge his reaction, and not one second before. I stiffened, and Chase went to let me go again-

-"No," I said, breathless with that curious blend of anxiety and heart-stopping excitement. "Don't stop."

He needed no further encouragement. I was pulled back into Chase's embrace like light into a black hole, and he let out what sounded suspiciously like a joyous sigh as he ran his fingers through my hair and breathed in deeply, as though the smell of me was like some expensive perfume.

"You're so beautiful," he said again, with an intensity that belied his quiet tone.

A fresh wave of fire lit my face up like a red Christmas light, and I tried not to meet his gaze as his praise of me made me somewhat embarrassed.

Chase drew back just a little bit and lifted my chin with one finger. "Look at me. Please," he pleaded.

My eyes were drawn into Chase's like a magnet, and his nose was practically touching mine. Chase, I thought giddily, had curiously-colored eyes: they were a sort of bluish-green that I'd never seen before.

Chase's voice was deliberately slow as the skin on his face brushed against me. "Laura…" he breathed, as though that were all the explanation I-or anyone-would ever need.

My arms began to gravitate toward Chase waist as if they'd had a will of their own, and with sudden fervor I seized him tightly and returned, silently, the gesture of affection that he'd shown me. Chase gasped in surprise and pleasure, a huge smile on his face, and his lips parted slightly as he leaned in close-

-And stopped. It happened so abruptly that I was kind of taken aback. I didn't exactly know what Chase had been planning on doing, but I was startled that I was so eager to find out.

I must have made a disappointed noise, because he rested his chin on my shoulder and said, "I don't want to make you feel like you have to something you're not ready for," he whispered. "You're not comfortable enough for that, are you?"

It was safest to nod, so that's what I did.

"Then it can wait," Chase murmured softly. "I can wait, Laura. It's…it's good not to rush things, after all, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded shakily, my hands clasping his back as my traitorous arms returned the heart-stopping hug.

The bell took that opportunity to start ringing.

Chase and I practically flew apart as people began streaming into the hallway. Chase's grin was bigger than a peeled banana, and it was so damn infectious that I began smiling in spite of myself.

"We should get to homeroom," Chase said, looking at me with eyes that were filled with some curious light. "You coming?"

He extended his hand to me, and slowly, very slowly, I placed my palm in his and felt our fingers intertwine. A shockwave of pure…something made my heart skip a beat, and my voice was ragged and raw as I glanced shyly back at him.

"Yes. I am."

A/N: D'AWWWW! Don't you just LOVE a good fluff scene? You'd all be lying if you said you weren't looking forward to this moment! XD But how will the rest of the school react to this? What vile plans does Samantha Kelly have in mind? And how will LOGAN react take the news? Find out in coming chapters! And PLEASE REVIEW! If you have ANY ideas or suggestions, LET ME KNOW! ^^

Your humble servant,

-Quill N. Inque