Erik ran a hand through his hair and sighed before looking up to Clara's sleeping body. He placed his fingers on his lips as he watched her sleeping with her blonde hair over her face. His bag was leaning against him as his heart turned into a cold metal that he was used to controlling. Erik didn't want to do this, but he felt like he had no choice. His talk with Clara, letting her in, was his way of telling her that he was leaving.

He could tell from the look in her eyes that she finally got all that she had wanted from him, but she didn't. Instead, she was going to wake up nearly furious out of her mind that he had upped and left again. Then, when she has calmed down and time has finally passed, she'll put two and two together that Erik's kind gesture to her was his way of saying good bye.

He just hated doing this to Clara after finally explaining to her how he felt about her.

He picked up his bag and slowly went over to Clara's side, somehow wanting her to wake up and notice that he was going to try and leave. Maybe with her awake, he'll be able to put down his bag and finally settle down with her for good. Erik closed his eyes and sighed, even if he did stay, she would be in more danger after trying to kill the President. They would think that she was his accomplice the second they found out that she too was a mutant.

Erik opened his eyes as he slowly leaned down and kissed Clara on her temple, his lips lingering on her skin more than it should have. He parted and stared down at her face as she didn't even stir from him kissing her as he let out in a small whisper.

"Forgive me, Clara"

Clara stretched and yawned as her alarm clock went off for a moment before she quickly turned it off. She silently pulled off the blankets as she went to her top drawer and pulled out some running clothes and pulled them on. A smile was still on her lips as she remembered that last night Erik had only wanted to kiss her all night and not have sex with her. It felt like a good change as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and glanced into the mirror only to do a double take behind her. Erik was actually up before her.

"Erik?" she called out.

She turned and went into the living room and noticed that no one was out there or even in the kitchen. Clara turned to the window and peeked out, wondering if he was out attempting to chop some wood again. But no one was there.

"Erik?"

The second Clara went into her bedroom again, her eyes went to where his bag was and that made her stop completely. It was gone, which only meant that so was Erik. Her heart squeezed in her chest as tears brimmed her eyes. She had prepared for this nearly the whole time Erik was here but the second she let her guard down, he left. Just like all those times before.

"And just like that?" Melanie asked, "No note or anything?"

"Nope" Clara said through her tight throat, "He usually does that"

Melanie leaned back a little as she tried to take this all in. Today was supposed to be a day of giggling and sharing little gesture stories and what they both thought Erik was attempting to do the night at the movies and bar. But instead, Clara had to break the news to Melanie that Erik had left in the still of the night after what was the most memorable moment she had with him.

Melanie glared off into the distance and shook her head, "But that is so random! He clearly likes you, Josef said so himself too! Why would he just randomly leave like that? He not only made the time to tell you how much he felt about you but also planned to hang out with us all"

"Believe me, you're preaching to the choir" Clara shrugged, "But hey! The music festival will be in town soon, at least I won't have to stick to one guy throughout the rest of the night"

Melanie stared at her for a moment longer before she leaned in, "You know it's alright, Clara, I'm your friend. You don't have to hold up that mask for me to think everything is alright. Having Henrik randomly disappear is something that no one saw coming. I know how much you liked him and he liked you so him leaving must be hard for you. It's okay to cry and be… vulnerable sometimes"

"Why should I cry?" Clara asked as she waved at her face, "I'll ruin my makeup and besides, I didn't put it on just for my mascara to fall to my cheeks. I'm fine, Melanie! Life's too short to worry about one man!"

"Are you sure?" Melanie asked slowly, "Do you even still want to go to the festival this weekend?"

"What else am I going to do on a Saturday?" Clara shrugged and winked.

Clara closed the door to her cabin and leaned up against the door, letting her head bang on it.

She listened in on the sound of nothingness in her cabin and wondered how after all these years that she thought that this was the best place for her. The silence was deafening now that no one was living in there with her. It was so quiet that she was impressed at how she never went psychotic just by constantly being alone.

Her meeting with Melanie had went as expected, her friend was cautious of Clara's usual enthusiastic nature and kept wanting to talk about Erik to her. But no matter what, Clara made it sound like she was alright when really she was dying on the inside. She never knew why, but acting like she didn't have a care in the world often sounded a lot better than opening up to someone and crying out tears and snot to them. Maybe that's just how she learned to deal with things after not having her parents around for so long. Maybe that's how she deals with Erik's wandering behavior after being a victim of it for so many years.

Clara bit her lip and looked around her cabin with fresh eyes.

Her eyes wandered the room before they landed on the fireplace. A glint of hope emerged from her as she immediately walked over there with a fireball in hand.

She let out a sigh as she threw the fire into the pit and let it spread and become alive. Clara sat down as she rubbed her hands on her knees. If Erik wasn't going to tell her where he went off to, than mind as well try and see what holds in his future.

Clara focused her mind's eye on Erik before she gazed into the flames as they came alive and shown her a vision of the future. Erik was walking around in a cabin, looking for something before a woman draped her arms around him as Erik smiled and kissed her tenderly. A little girl came into the room, running before Erik knelt down and picked her up and hugged her in a tight embrace. Clara felt tears run down her eyes as she tore away from the flames, refusing to believe what she just saw.

The flames in the fireplace flickered and danced, almost as if it was trying to catch her attention. She turned back around and noticed a vision of her in it. Clara was gazing up at a mansion before walking in. She walked straight up to a man strolling in a wheelchair as he smiled and nodded to her before reaching out his hand. The Clara in the flames took it and shook it firmly as the man seemed to be speaking to her before Clara made the flames die out.

"You've got to be kidding me" Clara scoffed as she got up and went over to her kitchen.

She knew the second she saw the wheelchair who her future self was talking to; Charles Xavier. Erik's best friend whom, if she could recall correctly, he had abandoned also. She took out the bottle of vodka she kept stored in the back and poured herself a glass. Normally she wouldn't drink it straight but being in the situation that she was in, she honestly didn't think there was anything left that would make her day shittier.

Clara took a drink and then grimaced at the bitter taste of it alone as she stared out into the dark night.

What was I doing at Charles' house of all places? She thought, What on earth would make me want to go over to that mansion? If there's one thing I hated most was to have a smart, British telepath trying to get inside my he-

Clara's thought's slammed to a stop as she thought about what Erik would saying during his time with the CIA. He had mentioned something about Charles using some sort of device that could allow him to locate other mutants.

"Cerebro" Clara remembered, impressed that she recalleded such a ridiculous name after all these years.

That's what I was doing at Charles' house! I was going there to find Erik! Clara felt hope burst into her as she drank the remainder of her vodka but then grimaced at the strong liquor before she turned back to her room and pulled out her bag.

"Charles is going to help me in finding Erik" Clara mumbled to herself, "He has to, there's no doubt about it… and if he doesn't, I'll set his paralyzed ass on fire"

Clara pulled out a few clothes as she hoped that this journey wouldn't take long, all she wanted was an explanation from Erik as to why he ran. Why does he always run when things are going great between the two of them. Now with the help of Cerebro, she will be able to figure out where he's hiding out.

Clara walked over to the front door and stopped before she turned and looked back to her cabin, hoping that she will soon be back with Erik in tow as she opened up the door, turned off the light, and locking it behind her.