John glared up at his ceiling. His back was stiff on his soft mattress and his vision was unfocused. He couldn't believe Wade would do that.
No. That was wrong. He could believe he would do that. He couldn't understand why. His father had hated the Brotherhood. Pyro had never really understood why he hated it, but he did. Wade wasn't one to shy away from telling people either. Why would he want to throw it back in his son's face that he had been a part of it?
One of his cronies…John recalled bitterly. He hadn't been some lackey; he was Magneto's right hand. Second only to Mystique. He hated it when Wade acted like he was a nobody in the Brotherhood.
He rolled onto his side with a sigh. Then there was Lydia to consider. Just thinking of that look of fear on her face turned his stomach.
Outside his door
Wade and Nate continued to play their video games. Neither had looked away from the screen, but they had kept talking. The young man was full of questions, and the older was more than pleased to answer them.
"So, like the Brotherhood-Brotherhood or like some wannabe cult?"
"Aren't they kind of the same thing? I mean, Magneto was a bit more commited than the typical cult but still. He wore a purple helmet for christ's sake." Wade told him, pressing a button enthusiastically. "But yeah, he was. Like, way up there too."
Nate smirked, "Is that a hint of pride I hear?"
"Hey! Just because I hate the guy in charge, doesn't mean I hate my boy…and considering what I do, I don't think I'm in any position to judge." He pursed his lips a moment, "Although, I can't really get past how he got conned into it by an old guy in a cape."
"Have you seen him on TV?" Nate snickered, "He's only like, the most charismatic guy ever. Hell, I almost joined 'til I found out about the whole down with humans thing."
Wade let out a snort of his own. "Rad. I mean, if he's going to raise hell, at least he was smart enough to do it right."
"I guess," Nate shrugged, slightly thrown by the ancient, but awesome, slang. "Should I be concerned? I mean, he's over it right?"
"What'd you mean?"
"I mean he's not gonna like smother me in my sleep or fuck Di and run off, will he?"
Wade shrugged, "Doubt it. He wouldn't get all angsty if he didn't like her." He paused the game, "You're not gonna mention this to anyone, are you?"
"Dude," Nate said, putting his hand over his heart, "We're penpals. That's a sacred bond."
Wade grinned at him, "Thanks."
"No problem, besides" The human shrugged, "If I did, it would just start too much crazy shit for me to even begin to handle."
"Hm."
A throat was cleared behind them, and they turned to find a glossy eyed Lydia standing there. She stared at them a moment, rocking on her heels, before speaking. "I'd like to meet him."
Wade nodded, his smile dampened by her tight expression. "Sure, I'll set something up."
Not saying anything, she left, moving over to John's door soundlessly. With a light knock, she entered. Pyro raised a brow at her, but didn't protest when she came in uninvited. His eyes darkened. "Did he make you cry?"
"No." She swallowed, "Not really." Lydia turned her gaze from him, "Can I…um, lay with you? Not like, in the biblical sense or anything."
He nodded with a smirk playing on his lips. Silently, she slipped into bed next to him. They stared at the ceiling together a moment before she spoke. "So." Lydia turned to curl into his side. Resting her head on his chest, she spoke, "You're a mutant, huh?"
"Yeah," He blinked in surprised, brushing some of her red hair back. "You're not mad."
"No. Roxy told me earlier." She smirked. "My moment of drama is over."
"You had a moment?" John asked quietly.
She sighed, "Yeah. I did." Her blue eyes lifted up to his brown ones, "I…have certain feelings for you-"
"Brendan says you're in love with me."
"Brendan is a total fuckass and is to be ignored unless I say so." She said bitterly. She still wasn't entirely over the scholarship(scholarshit she thought inwardly) dilemma. "But he has a point."
Pyro smiled. "Okay. So you don't have a problem with me being a mutant?"
"Well, yes and no," Lydia sat up a bit, "I just…it's complicated. You know of my daddy issues?"
"Not really," He admitted, "Just that he left."
"Yeah, he left me with a warped mutant driven inferiority complex."
The young man quirked a curious brow at her. "Oh?"
"He left," She fumbled awkwardly a moment before continuing, "because I'm not a mutant."
John sat up. Staring her right in the face, he searched her expression for some hint of a lie, but came up with none. "Bullshit."
"It's true, my mom told me so." The young human sat up straighter as she crossed her legs, "Both of them were mutants, so were my brothers." She shrugged, a strained smile playing on her lips, "I was the black sheep."
"Bullshit," He repeated, an almost horrified disbelief on his features. "We're not like that."
She slapped him in the chest lightly, chastising, "Bullshit. Everyone's like that. It's like having a mutant born into a tight laced, conservative human family." Lydia relented, "Well, maybe not exactly. But that's what my grandmother said."
"But- I thought you said your dad left when you were little." His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "And your mom died when you were twelve. What if you had been a late bloomer or something?"
Her cheeks heated up a tad. "My gram can do this manipulation thing with molecules. She knew I wasn't a mutant the day I was born. Said she could see right into my DNA."
"So why didn't she just make you a mutant?" John's eyes shifted, not liking this one bit. It was too…familiar. How many foster homes had he been thrown out of for being a mutant before Xavier picked him up? How many times had he been spit at and called a freak while in the Brotherhood? He wondered if that's what it had been like for her at home, but he doubted it. Regardless, he slipped a hand over hers.
She smiled and weaved their fingers together. "My gram wouldn't do that. She doesn't believe in messing with nature anymore than she has to. My mom hated her for it. They didn't speak for years."
John licked his lips. A shudder crept down his spine as he asked in a hush tone, "Why didn't she join the Brotherhood?"
"Had a family, I suppose," She felt the heat rise in his fingers tips, but said nothing, "I wondered about that myself. She was never really all that…maternal."
"Abusive?" He asked, watching her carefully. Pyro knew her well enough to catch her in a lie, but he didn't think she would lie to him. Not about this, and not while he was looking her in the face.
"No," she scoffed, wiping her eyes. She wasn't crying but she was close. "Not physically or anything. After my dad left, she was distant. Wouldn't talk to us, and when she did it was usually yelling or crying. Locked herself in the bathroom a lot. My brothers practically raised me for a month. Then Thom and Colin died…" Her shoulders bobbed, "And she wasn't the same. Sent me to live with my grandparents. Less than a year later she was dead."
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" The young man asked, slightly bristled by the sudden slew of information.
"Why didn't you tell me you were a mutant?" Lydia shot back. She was still a bit rattled by the idea of lying in bed with a man she hardly knew and discussing such personal matters. But curiosity was getting the better of her. She wanted to know why he hadn't told her and why he was suddenly the one giving the sympathetic glances instead of receiving them.
He looked away from her. "I hate humans, Di."
"Oh." She said quietly. Biting her lip, Lydia nodded understandingly, "I can see why, I guess."
His fingers tightened around hers. For a moment they sat in silence. "I don't…not you, okay? You're the first that hasn't- hasn't," He faltered, still not meeting her soft gaze, "You don't know me."
"Is that bad?"
"It could be. It could be very bad." Pyro's eyes met hers, and he couldn't get past the look of concern he found there. "If people found out…" He shook his head, "It could be bad. And not just for me, Lydia, they'd go after you too. They'd make an example of us."
"Who would?"
He opened his mouth to tell her when a quiet voice in the back of his mind told him to back down. Not to tell her. To let him enjoy himself for once and act like a normal college student, so he did. "I don't know," He lied. She knew it too, she could tell by how he dropped her gaze and his fingers became tighter around hers. "Can you get past me being a mutant?"
"Do you promise you won't run out on me if they do decide to make an example of us?" She was teasing him of course, but part of her was pleading for some kind of stability.
He nodded, "I promise."
With a smile, she kissed him. "Then yeah, I can get past it. But first…" She pulled back slightly, smirking, "You have to show me what you can do. Or else I'll start calling you Sparky in public."
"Maybe later," John promised, standing up. "Come on, we should go deal with my dad before he thinks were having sex."
Wade popped his head in the door, "Oh, I know you're not having sex."
"Get out!" Pyro snapped, earning a giggle from the girl on the bed. His dark eyes shot to hers, "Don't encourage him."
She beamed at him as she stood, "Sorry."
"No you're not," John grumbled, but his tone softened as she slipped her arm through his. "And don't start that either."
"Fine!" Wade stuck his tongue out at his son as he pulled the young woman closer to him. He gazed down at her fondly, "So pretty. Anyway, I talked to Meta, and he said he'll see you for lunch tomorrow."
She smiled stiffly at him. "Great."
"You're lying!" The older man grinned, cupping her face. "Team player!"
"Wade," John growled, "First off, let her go, now, and second, why are you having lunch with Meta?"
The second was addressed to Lydia. She pursed her lips, "He's my dad. Supposedly. How do you know him?"
"I- well," He swallowed, "Don't really, but- why didn't you mention this before?"
"I didn't think he'd work that fast," She muttered.
"Yeah, neither did Amy, zing!"
They young people squinted at him.
"Did you just zing yourself?" John asked.
"Shut up! It was a good one!"
A/N: Okay, first off, to MK, the Meta is an OC. I wish you had an account so I could tell you directly, but to make things easier I'll address it here. Nate, Brendan, Roxy, Lopez and Mel are also OCs. Anyone with a picture under my A Small Crime section on my profile is an OC. I hope that clears stuff up for ya, hun! Rad really is a cool word. Someone needs to bring it back.
