I don't own anything to do with anything in the X-Men franchise. That sucks majorly, but that's all right. I'll live. I do own Jaklyn Porter, Silence Allerdyce and most of this plot, besides the bits that came from the movie. Mina belongs to my friend. This fic follows along with X2 and is rated for language, violence, drinking, blood, gore, and some bad relationship choices. No explicit sexual content yet. That comes in the sequel, kiddies. And I'm not listing pairings, because they're pretty obvious. Woo. Hope you enjoy this fic.

Illusive Rhapsody
Chapter Ten / The Vodka Rift

In the three days that followed, Jaklyn spoke only when it was absolutely necessary, and she spent all of her time in classes, in her room painting and drinking, or down in the Danger Room fighting random enemies and running simulations by herself. She spent as much of her time by herself as it was possible. She had already received one talking to from Jean about her absent-minded behaviour, but Jaklyn seemed to have ignored her, as she definitely continued. The young mutant girl always seemed to be walking around in some sort of stupor, and she seemed completely out of it. And no one knew what to do to help her.

Mina had tried to talk to her more than once and had tried to get her out of her room, but none of her tactics was working very well. If Silence had been at the mansion, she would have forced Jaklyn out of her room, but she was still in New York City somewhere, and Mina didn't have the same attitude as Silence. She didn't have what she was sure it would take to get Jaklyn out of her room, and to be herself again.

Bobby had also tried to talk Jaklyn, but he had had no more luck than Mina. Piotr had even tried to talk to her, but Jaklyn ignored him more than anyone else. She wouldn't even talk to any of the teachers, she never answered questions in class and she ate all her meals in her room. She was becoming an absolute recluse, and Mina knew something would have to be done soon.

"This isn't a healthy way for her to be," Bobby observed one night while almost everyone at the mansion was eating dinner together in the main dining hall. "We need to do something. Maybe we should talk to the Professor?"

Mina shook her head. "No, no. I don't think that'd be a wise idea. Then, we might be prying, and Jaklyn would be mad at us then." She chewed on a mushroom for a while, a look of contemplation on her face. "It seems like all we can do is keep an eye on her. You know, make sure she doesn't hurt herself. Become suicidal or something ridiculous like that." Mina's eyes flickered to her right, where John was sitting, silently. "You have any input?" She, of course, knew he wouldn't answer, but she felt obligated to ask; in fact, John hadn't said a whole lot lately. He was worried about Silence. "Ah, that's OK." Mina turned back to Bobby. "You have every class with Jaklyn, right?"

Bobby nodded and swallowed a mouthful of his dinner, which was pork chops, steamed vegetables and rice. "Yeah. I'll try and keep an eye on her. You'll have to do that in Danger Room session though. I don't have those with her." He sighed. "Maybe we should speak to Kitty?"

"Nah."

After dinner was finished, the inhabitants of the mansion deposited their dishes in the sink. It was Mina and John's turn to wash the dishes that night. Neither of them were particularly thrilled.

"Don't worry about the pots," Jean said as she was exiting the kitchen. "I'll do those later. Just rinse everything else and cram as much as possible in the dishwasher. Wash the rest. You know the drill." She left the room with a smile on her face and headed into the arms of a waiting Scott, and then their pair proceeded in the general direction of the back doors.

Mina picked up one of the serving platters, realized it was one of the dishes that couldn't go in the dishwasher and set it back down again. "Are you all right, John?" she asked, retrieving a different platter from the pile. "I've never seen you like this before."

He didn't answer, just stood by, waiting with the drying towel.

"John?"

"I'm fine."

"Oh, now that's a lie. You're talking even less than usual, and you don't want to do anything. Like, at all. What is wrong? I want to help."

"Well you can't."

Mina winced and drew back and silently washed the platter in the water she had run a few minutes ago. "Well, I'd like to try," she said bitterly. "That's what girlfriends do when their boyfriend is upset, John. They try and help."

John took the platter and began to dry it. "I'm worried about Silence, if you must know. And you can't do anything about that, like I said. Unless you can bring her back, and, no offense, but no one, not even you, could change her mind."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. No one can change her mind when she's made it up. So I'm going to silently worry about her until she gets her ass home, and there's nothing else to it. You're just going to have to deal with me like this."

Mina finished washing the last platter and handed it to John. She then grabbed the first in a tall stack of plates. "I don't want to deal with you like this John, although, I'm obviously going to. But there's got to be something I can do to help you take your mind off of Silence for even a while?"

It was an innocent enough question, besides the obvious suggestions, but it sent John over the edge. The platter in his hands fell to the tile floor and shattered into a million pieces. "I don't want to take my mind off of her! She is my sister. She is the only family I have left. She is the most important person in my life, regardless of how much we fight." John's face was livid. "She is the only person who really understands me. We've been through everything together, and she's run away, Mina. I don't want to take my fucking mind off her, Mina! I want her to come home and I want to know, I want to see that she is OK!" He finished his tirade with a sharp glare and then stormed from the room, throwing the towel he was holding into the pile of china shards.

Mina, whose cheeks were wet with tears, slowly knelt down and began picking up the pieces.

Up in her room, Jaklyn had her own pieces to pick up. They were pieces of herself, and she wasn't even trying. She was content right then, to lay on her bed and drink until she couldn't see straight. She was content to drown her troubles, and possibly herself, in the spicy sensation of vodka sliding down her throat.

She didn't get that chance though. She didn't even get the chance to feel a buzz.

Someone knocked on her door.

Go the fuck away, she thought as she rolled onto her side, putting her back to the door. I want to be alone, that's why my door is shut and locked. What part of that don't people get? The knocking persisted. God. Whoever is doing that is going to give me the biggest bloody fucking headache ever. She got to her feet, walked slowly over and opened the door. And found herself looking at Piotr; dinner must be finished. "What do you want?" she snapped.

Piotr took in her appearance with concern plastered on his handsome face. "I want to make sure you're all right, Jaklyn. No one has been able to talk to in three days. What did Kitty say to you that was so bad?"

"She told me to get lost. And that's what I did." Jaklyn took a drink from the bottle that was in her hand.

Piotr's eyes widened and he snatched the bottle from her when she was finished. "What is this?" he asked, his voice quiet, and astonished. "Is this what you have been doing up here by yourself for the past three days? Drinking yourself stupid?" As his emotions increased, his Russian accent became more pronounced. "Are you trying to poison yourself, Jaklyn? Trying to kill yourself?"

She took the bottle back. "Why the bloody hell do you care what I do to myself? You have Kitty to care about." Jaklyn took another drink. "What does it matter if I die? It's not like I'm some important part of the mansion or anything."

Piotr, not caring if he spilt any of the vodka anymore, took the bottle and smashed it on the floor beside him. "Do not think that no one cares about you here Jaklyn. Many people would be upset by your selfish actions. Many people would be very hurt." His face lost the harsh edge it had taken on – something very rare for Piotr – and the normal kindness took its place. "Do not do this Jaklyn… We can help you. You do have friends at the mansion." He held the door open when she tried to slam it in his face. "Why don't you tell me what Kitty said to upset you so much."

Jaklyn looked at him long and hard for a minute. "I already told you." Her voice was quiet and each word emphasized with anger. "She told me to get lost."

"And?"

"And nothing! Why the hell do you want to know?" She tried to shut the door again, but Piotr held it open. Jaklyn looked up, trying to glare at Piotr again, but found that his gaze unsettled her, made her want to tell him everything. Made her knees weak. "And…" Jaklyn shook her head. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" She summoned her animal strength – something she had learned to do in Danger Room sessions – and shut the door in his face, shutting out his blue eyes, his concern.

"Jaklyn!" he called through the door. "Drinking isn't going to solve your problems."

"I'm going to drink anyway," she said, her voice nearing a hiss. "So you might as well stop caring so God damn much and go pay some attention to your girlfriend."

She waited until she was sure Piotr had gone and then slammed her head backwards into the door. Piotr had broken her last bottle of the vodka Samantha had packed in her bag. Being the resourceful girl Jaklyn was thought, she had managed to procure three more bottles of the stuff from Jaime Madrox; she had asked him to buy her some, and he, being the decent person he had become, had obliged. The two bottles that were left were hidden, wrapped in a sweater beneath her bed. She could have easily retrieved one of them and quenched her thirst, but right then, at that moment, she felt so horrible that the pain of that thirst was more satisfying than any pain the burn of the vodka could generate.

"I'm glad someone has finally come to me, Piotr."

The young Russian looked across the desk at Professor Xavier and forced a smile. "I do not think that anyone else, besides you and Ms. Grey, of course, knows about her drinking." He looked back down at his hands folded in his lap. "And I did not think you would interfere unless it was a pressing danger."

"To tell you the truth, I haven't been keeping as close of an eye on her as I should have been. I am sorry that I let it get this far out of control, Piotr."

"It's all right. But can you do anything about it, Professor?"

Xavier opened his mouth to reply, but closed it again. "I'm not going to promise anything except that I will try. If Jaklyn doesn't want to fix this, I can't – I won't – force her. Is she still in her room?"

"Yes." Piotr rose from his chair. "Thank you."

Piotr left the office and headed towards the stairs, planning to head upstairs to his room and spend some time drawing. He ran into a distraught-looking Mina though, sitting on the stairs, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head resting on them. Her eyes were closed, but tears were visible on her cheeks and streaming from her eyes. Piotr sat down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, slightly startled by his sudden appearance, but smiled when she saw it was him.

"Hey Pete," she said, wiping his cheeks.

"What's wrong, Mina?"

"John yelled at me. He's so worried about Silence. I've never seen him like this before and I don't know what to do… I don't know what I can do… I want to help… Except now he won't speak to me. He won't even look at me, except to realize it's me and walk away." Tears started to fall again, and as Piotr pulled her into a friendly embrace, she collapsed against him.

"I went to the Professor about Jaklyn."

"Why?" Mina sobbed.

"When I went up to talk to her, she opened the door and she was holding a bottle of vodka. She's been drinking up there, Mina."

"What's happening to people around here, Pete?"

He sighed. "I don't know."

Silence lay on the luxurious bed in the hotel room Warren had paid for, and sighed, closing her eyes and stretching to her full length. Her four days in New York City had been amazing, rejuvenating, relaxing. They had been everything she had been looking for, and it was mostly because she had been spending so much time with Warren. They met for lunch in the park everyday and then they would spend the afternoon together, sight-seeing and wandering the streets. He would walk her back to the hotel before dinner, and then he'd head back to his father's ridiculously expensive apartment before he was expected. Warren had informed Silence that if his father found out he was spending his time with another mutant, things would not be pretty.

The only thing that was ruining Silence's get away was the fact that Jaime kept calling her cell-phone, and she did not want to talk to him. In fact, she didn't want to talk to anyone. Any time her cell phone rang, she'd look to see who it was, but she wouldn't answer it. Not even if it was Mina or John. The only person she'd answer the phone for was Warren.

She was definitely attracted to him. His quiet and kind disposition was refreshing, and he made her feel calm like Jaime never had. She felt calm like she never had before.

She was happy, but, she did miss Mina and her friends and John. Silence had no one to talk to, to share this happiness with. She wanted to go back to the mansion. But Warren would never come back to the mansion with her, and she knew that once she did return to the mansion, her serenity would vanish. Silence was conflicted.

Her cell phone went off then, the theme from her favourite movie causing her to jump. She rolled onto her stomach and dug the device out of her bag. That ringer was Mina's. Silence let the phone ring again, and then, after a momentary battle with herself, flipped the phone open and pressed it to her ear.

"What do you want Foxy Lady?" she asked, smirking to herself.

"OH MY GOD! You're actually going to talk to me?!" Mina sounded panicked.

"What's wrong, Mi?"

"Things are like, falling apart here Si. John and I had a fight and now we're not speaking. Kitty yelled at Jaklyn, and now they're not friends anymore, and Piotr went to talk to Jaki, found out she's like an alcoholic or something, and now the Professor's going to try and stop her from drinking, but no one knows what's going to happen. Si, you need to come home." Silence could hear her friend breathing heavily, probably trying to stop herself from crying. "John's really worried about you, by the way. He won't admit it to anyone but me, of course, and that was what we ended up fighting about… Oh God Silence! Get your ass home."

"Mina… I'm sorry. I…" She closed her eyes, regretting what she was going to say next. "But I can't come home yet. I'm not ready to be somewhere Jaime could find me easily." I don't want to leave Warren, she thought. That was the truth, but Mina didn't need more on her mind at the present time. "I'll be home soon."

"Silence… Fine. I guess I'll see you when you get home then. I'll try and hold things together."

"Don't take it all on yourself, Mi. Find help."

"Whatever. I hope you're finding whatever you left us for in New York City."

Silence was about to ask how Mina knew where she was, but the answer came to her before she had to ask – Cerebro. "I am, Mina. I'm just not ready to come home yet. Soon. I promise."

There was a moment before Silence heard Mina sigh and then she said, "I believe you Si. I'll see you whenever that is. Bye."

"Bye."

Silence closed her phone and dropped her head, face-first, into her pillow and huffed. She knew she should head home. But she didn't want to leave Warren. She also knew that she was being selfish, but didn't she have a right to be once in a while? Just phone him and tell him you're heading home. Silence opened her phone again, and dialed Warren's cell number; according to him, Silence was the only person he'd given that number to who wasn't part of his family or of the people his father worked with.

It rang for a while, before someone answered.

"Hello?"

The voice was deeper than Warren's. Silence hung up as soon as she knew it wasn't him and dropped her head into the pillow again.

"What is that bastard doing here?" John asked when he saw Jaime standing in the entrance hall.

"He's looking for Silence." Bobby looked at his classmate warily, wondering what John was going to do next. "He'll leave as soon as he realizes she's not here," he said, hoping that would cool John off enough.

"He's not going to let him go," Rogue said quietly in his ear.

"I can try to stop him."

But it was too late. John was already moving down the stairs, his jaw set and his lighter clicking furiously. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" he demanded, taking his place across from the black haired young man. Jaime may have been a few years John's senior, but he didn't care. John was tough, he was a fighter, and he was going to stand up for his sister, even if she wasn't there.

"I'm looking for Silence, John. I need to talk to her."

"What about? Have to come to upset her some more?" Click, click, click went John's lighter in his right hand. "I've got news for you, Jaime. She doesn't want to talk to you. So you can just leave."

"No. I can't. I have to talk to her John. It's important."

Pyro now had a ball of flame floating above his upturned palm. "For your information, Jaime, she ran away after you talked to her last time. We don't know where she is and we don't know when she's coming back. That's your fault, Jaime. She could be dead in a ditch somewhere, because of what you told her, of what you did to her. If she doesn't come home, that's on your hands. If I find out that she is dead, I will hunt you down and burn you slowly, so you feel some inkling of the pain she felt."

Through this whole exchange, Pyro had kept his voice low so no one but Jaime would hear what he was saying. He knew that Bobby and Rogue, standing behind him, could see the fire, and he knew that they would probably call the Professor to come and stop him from burning down the mansion, but he didn't care. He had to get his message across and make sure that Jaime knew what he had done to Silence. How he had destroyed part of the strength Silence had possessed – the strength that had brought her and Pyro to the mansion, to safety. The strength that had, more than once, saved their lives and the strength that had made Silence so important to Pyro.

"John," a warning voice said behind him.

He recognized the powerful voice of the Professor and extinguished the fire in his hand. He shot Jaime one more glare, before turning. "Sorry Professor." He walked past, back to where Bobby and Rogue were standing. "What are you looking at?" he snapped at Rogue, who was staring, wide-eyed. He kind of really didn't like Bobby and Rogue, but they were the only people he could associate himself with right now, with him and Mina not speaking.

"Nothing," Rogue said.

Jean ascended the staircase to Jaklyn's room and knocked on the door. While she was waiting, her eyes fell down to where broken glass from a vodka bottle and a clear puddle sat. Oh God, the Professor was right. She is drinking. She knocked on the door again, but there was no answer. "Jaklyn? It's Jean. I want to talk to you about the field trip tomorrow. Please open the door."

After a moment, the door swung inward and a very tired and sad looking Jaklyn leaned on it. "OK."

"We're going to a museum of natural history tomorrow morning. We're leaving at eight. All of the other students are going. The Professor was wondering weather you are well enough to go as well."

Jaklyn's eye fell to the ground, drifted to where the vodka lay on the floor. It took a while, but she finally said, "Yeah, I'll come. I'll go to bed early tonight, and I should be OK."

Jean smiled and nodded, glad that the girl was finally saying more than one word at a time. She reached out and placed a hand on Jaklyn's shoulder, causing the girl to look up into her fiery eyes. "You know Jaklyn, that if you have any problems, you can talk to the Professor or me. Anything we talk about will be kept in complete confidence." Jean gave Jaklyn the warmest smile she possibly could. "We are here to help you with more than just your powers, you know." That earned Jean a smile, and she saw some of the spark that had been present in Jaklyn only a few days ago. "If you'd like, I can supervise some solo Danger Room sessions for you, as well, if that'll help."

"Only if we ran one everyday," she said sarcastically.

Jean smiled again. "We could. But only if you want to. Let me know, all right?"

Jaklyn nodded and Jean turned to leave the girl alone with her thoughts. "Jean," she called as the older woman was walking away. "I'm sorry."

Jean smiled. "It's OK, Jaklyn. We'll get you through this."