Sorry about the wait for this chapter. I recently got another part time job, so life has been pretty stressful. I promised beforehand that I would update every week (or at least try), and even though I failed big time on that promise, I'll try to actually follow that this time and update during the weekends. Or at least get a chapter out every other week.
Big thanks to everyone who favorited the story or commented or just continued to read the story even though I'm terrible at updating; you guys make me strong. And to the people who are just beginning to read No Angels - I'm sorry.
Originally I had three more chapters planned, but seeing how I had a few loose ends to still tie up, I decided to add another chapter - so four more chapters until the end!
Heather stayed in the hallway for a while after Darwin disappeared.
Leaning against one of the walls, her eyes downcast, she had no idea what to tell the others. Should she just walk back to the lobby and say 'Hey, guess what, I saw your friend, Darwin. Yeah, but don't be expecting any visits from him. He's off to a better place. You know, the great unknown, kingdom come, eternal rest, the Promised Land.'
Or should she even tell them? What if they had all moved on? What if - bringing Darwin up just hurt them all further? Heather remembered the pain and discomfort she had noticed in Alex's eyes when he had brought Darwin up. She knew that she had promised to tell Alex if she saw him but - did she really want to cause him further pain?
Heather let out a sigh, running her hand through her hair, pushing the locks behind her ear, before deciding. I won't tell them yet, she thought to herself, as she stood from her spot, I'll wait until we get home and everyone gets settled. She nodded to herself, seemingly pleased with her own plan, as she made her way back to group, her snack long forgotten.
The group had pulled three couches together to make a circle and were currently laughing and speaking rather loudly to one another (The main culprits being Raven and Sean). The woman at the desk shot them all a glare before mumbling something in Spanish and walking into a back office, slamming the door behind her. They didn't seem to even notice - or maybe they just didn't care.
Heather glanced at the seats for an empty spot, before noticing with a sigh that the only one left was by Erik. She pondered whether sitting on the floor beside either Charles or Raven was an option, before quickly deciding that 1) she and Erik were not fighting, therefore she had no reason to try and avoid him, and 2) it would seem terribly rude.
She paused briefly, before squeezing her way through the sides of the couches and taking her seat beside Erik. Despite Heather's inner hopes, Erik didn't immediately turn to her and begin talking or - apologizing. Instead, the air was filled with silence - silence so tense that even Charles glanced at the two in worry. There was no reason for Heather to feel so awkward or tense around Erik, especially since she'd felt comfortable around him almost from the beginning.
Part of her kept telling herself that she was the one making things worse, that she should turn and start a conversation instead of waiting for Erik to. But - something wasn't right. Erik hadn't been the same since they left the beach; he seemed more emotionally conflicted than usual, he hadn't spoken to her, he hadn't even looked at her -
Was he angry that Heather stopped him from killing those humans?
Heather was so consumed by her thoughts that she didn't realize that someone was talking to her until she felt a hand shaking her shoulder. "Heather," the familiar voice called firmly and Heather jumped, before whipping around to face Erik, her face drawn up in surprise and a little embarrassment.
Erik's eyebrows were furrowed in concern, as he asked rather sincerely, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Heather replied instinctively, "I'm just - tired."
Erik continued to look at her, seemingly not believing a word she said, before sighing. After a small pause, he looked away from her and added, "Well - you can always sleep on the plane." Heather nodded slowly, as a thought came to her. What if they turn her away now? They didn't need her anymore. Erik had killed Shaw, World War III had been prevented, Edie and Erik had been (sort of) reunited. There was no need for a girl who talked to ghosts anymore.
Especially since she was going nuts.
"Were you - " Heather didn't mean for the question to come out, but now that she began, she needed to finish, " - Were you going to kill those soldiers? With the missiles?" Erik didn't even miss a beat, as he replied, "Part of me wanted to." Heather glanced at him, opening and closing her mouth, trying to found the right words. "If you could - " Heather asked, slowly, catching Erik's gaze, "Would you still do it?"
There was a long pause, the only sound in the room being the others' vibrant conversation - a conversation so very different from their own. "No," he said, his voice almost too quiet to hear. He then cleared his throat, glancing away from Heather's gaze, and continued much louder. "Killing the humans - an entire race - it wouldn't make me any better than Shaw or Hitler." Both were soaked in venom and Erik spit them out rather angrily. Heather didn't know what to say to that, so she simply put her hand on top of his, in an attempt to comfort the older man. He looked back over at her, the surprise evident in his eyes, but she gave him a small smile.
After a moment, he returned it.
They arrived at the jungle surrounded airfield around noon, just like Joey had took them to do, but it seemed like no one was around. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Sean questioned, glancing around at the seemingly deserted area. The grass was overgrown in most places, except for a dirt lane - the runaway, Heather guessed - and a large, old looking shed sat off on the far right side. Moira opened her mouth to reply, but the loud sound of rattling, old engine starting rang through the air, scaring all of them.
The sound was coming from the shed and, as they watched in shock, an older but still rather large plane rolled out. Once it had finally exited, it screeched to a stop, causing Angel to wince, and Moira walked towards the exiting pilot, waving the rest them forward.
As they walked towards the Cedro, Sean leaned over and whispered to Heather. "Are you sure that thing's safe?" Now that Heather got a closer look, she realized it a smaller military cargo plane, something that her brother had showed her pictures of after he went off to war. In 1942.
The plane had to be at least twenty years old. And it looked even older. The paint was chipped and the metal was dented terribly and " - Are those bullet holes?" Sean pointed out fearfully.
Cedro - a short but chubby man - let out a hearty laugh. "Sometimes, leaving the country, " he said in a heavily accented voice, "We get shot at." Sean's eyes widened and he looked at the others, before asking in a high voice, "Shot at - are we really going to trust this plane?" Moira gave him an impressed look. "You have another idea of how to get home?" Sean shook his head. "That's what I thought," Moira responded, before opening the door of the plane and letting herself in.
One by one each of them entered the plane. Heather took a seat in the far end, hoping that the nightmarish images of Shaw had passed and she could finally get some sleep. But just as she began to close her eyes, she felt two familiar people sit on either side of her. "What do you want, Charles?" She asked, her tone was light and teasing, but she was becoming more and more annoyed.
There was a mischievous look in Charles' eyes and just before Heather could do anything - like run away - he began to talk. "I'm planning on turning my home into a school for mutants - " Surprised by that, Heather opened her mouth to interrupt with questions, but a stern look from Charles kept her quiet, " - No questions until the end. It will be a safe place for mutant to learn about their powers and to learn how to control them. Now, I have the others on board with the idea but I'd also like to have you. Would you like to be a teacher at the school?"
Heather stared at Charles in shock for a moment. He wanted her to be a teacher. He didn't want her to leave or to go away. He wanted her to stay with them. "I'm not a teacher," she responded, despite her tongue feeling heavy and numb, "I don't have a certificate or anything to even q - "
" - None of us do," Erik pointed out, "But that didn't stop us from being able to teach each other."
She took Erik's words into thought, as she pondered over the decision. She wouldn't be able to stay at her home in DC, she'd have to move permanently into her room at the mansion. She'd be away from Joey, from her family's graves, from the city she grew up in. It wouldn't be like a simple vacation or trip; she'd be moving away, only visiting when she was able to.
But she wouldn't be alone anymore. Of course she'd miss Joey, but she'd be surrounded by her own kind, by her new friends, by her students. She wouldn't have to hide her ability every single day. She'd be able to make a difference in her students' lives, she'd be able to help them control their own powers.
Heather took a deep breath, looking between the two, before saying, "Okay - "
" - Great! We still have - "
" - On one condition - "
Charles looked a little bemused at that. " - Alright, what condition?"
Heather paused, thinking about her promise to Joey, before replying, "I get to tell Joey everything. And I mean, everything." Erik raised his eyebrow, glancing over at Charles. "Can we trust him with the truth?" Heather let out an over dramatic sigh, "I know him. I've known him since we were toddlers. He'd understand. And if he doesn't, Charles had use his mind wipe thing and save the day."
Erik opened his mouth to respond, but Charles beat him to it. "Deal," Charles responded brightly, reaching over and shaking Heather's hand, adding in a mocking voice, "Pleasure doing business with you." Heather bit her lip, trying not to smile, as she shook his hand in return. "Pleasure's all mine."
A silence fell over the remaining two, before Erik slid down in his seat and closed his eyes. "I don't know about you, but I'm taking a nap." Heather let out a laugh, "Sweet dreams." The side of Erik's mouth turned up in a smirk, before he mumbled once more, "Always." A few minutes later, Raven made her way over to the empty seat beside Heather and cooed when she saw Erik asleep. "Aw, he doesn't look like a serial killer now," she snickered, before Heather, trying not to laugh, shushed her.
Heather thought the ride would a little more peaceful and eventless after that, but somehow, half way through the flight, she became both Raven and Erik's pillow.