Laura's Journal
An X-Men Evolution Fanfic by Quill N. Inque
I do not own X-Men.
Chapter 21: Prologue- Quickening, Part 1
Chase pulled away reluctantly, his eyes tender. "I need to be heading home," he murmured in my ear. "See you tomorrow?"
"Count on it," I said, kissing the tip of his nose affectionately. "Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?"
"My foster mom gets worried if I'm not back by ten," Chase said ruefully, digging the car keys out of his pocket and giving me one last squeeze. "Wish I could, though."
"So do I," I murmured, blushing. "See you at school, Chase."
"I'm counting down the hours," he grinned back.
The door shut in his wake with a loud click, and after I was sure the reverberations of Chase's car engine had faded into the night, I said loudly, "You can come out now. I know you're there."
Kitty promptly slammed into me like a sumo wrestler and grabbed me in a bone-crushing hug as she let out a squeal. "Oh, my God! You kissed him!"
"I know."
"And he kissed you!"
"I'm aware of that," I said irritably, rounding on her. "What I don't like is that you decided to spy on us."
"I just wanted to see how things were going with you two," Kitty said sheepishly. "And it's not like you'd tell me if I just went and asked."
She was right, dammit. "Well, now you know," I said, shrugging noncommittally."Satisfied?"
"Say it," Kitty grinned.
"Say what, exactly?"
"That I was right," Kitty's expression was smug. "That deciding to date Chase was the best thing you ever did. That you're starting to like him as much as he likes you."
"I'm not giving you that satisfaction," I told her grumpily.
"But it's still true," Kitty pressed. "You're welcome, by the way. If I hadn't blackmailed you into talking to him in the first place, none of this would have happened."
Son of a bitch, I hadn't even thought of that, I swore silently. "I'm still not going to say it," I replied aloud with a stubborn expression.
"Why not, Laura?" Kitty looked downright crestfallen.
"Because I'm disagreeable that way," I said matter-of-factly, turning to leave. "But even so…"
I stopped in mid-step. "Thank you, Kitty," I conceded at last.
She grinned in response, but I didn't acknowledge it. I'd already come as close as I could to admitting that I was wrong.
Leaving her standing in the hall, I headed toward the kitchen for a snack. I hadn't gotten to eat anything at the restaurant Chase had take me to due to his father's sudden appearance, and my stomach was starting to let me know in no uncertain terms that it was running on fumes, so to speak.
I smelled Logan before I saw him. He reeked of beer so badly that I was tempted to cover my nose.
He sat hunched over the kitchen table, a pair of empty six-packs by his feet and an assortment of drained metal cans within reach of his arms. Logan opened another with swift, choppy movements that hinted at how angry he was, and I observed him for a few moments before speaking.
"That won't work," I said flatly. "Your healing factor prevents you from becoming intoxicated, Logan."
"Doesn't mean I can't try," he muttered back. "Whaddaya want, Small Fry?"
"I was going to see how you were holding up," I said, shifting uncomfortably. It was true; now that I thought about it, I had been rather concerned about how Logan would cope with being overruled by the Professor earlier. Logan was not the type of person to take being beaten at anything gracefully. "But seeing as how your anger doesn't seem to have died down, I think I will leave until you get a hold of your temper."
"No," Logan's hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. "Have a seat, squirt."
"You're not going to throw any of those cans at me, are you?" I asked warily, taking a seat opposite him.
"Oh, please. If I was goin' to throw somethin' at ya, I'd use somethin' heavier than a beer can," Logan snorted, a bitter smile on his face.
"Glad to see you've retained your sparkling sense of humor," I snarked back.
"What sense o' humor?" Logan gave a short bark of something that may have been laughter.
I gave a small grin in spite of myself, but said nothing. The silence became rather uncomfortable as I waited for him to continue, but since Logan didn't seem to have any intention of speaking further, I decided to take the initiative.
"So…What now?" I asked slowly, my tone cautious.
"Whaddaya mean, 'what now?'" Logan growled.
"What happens next?" I clarified. "Are you going to support me in dating Chase, or do we keep fighting about it? Are you going to let your feud with Sabertooth get the better of you?"
Logan's throat bobbed as he slugged down his beer and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "I think yer boyfriend's got good intentions," he said, "but I still think Creed's a lost cause. You don't know 'im like I do; he's bad right down to 'is bone marrow. But," he added, "as long as the kid keeps his daddy away from you, he and I shouldn't have any problems. I mean it, Laura," he added. "I don't want ya within seein' distance of Sabertooth, got it? You can spend yer time with Chase all ya want, but don't even go anywhere near Victor Creed. He may not be as understandin' as I am."
Frankly, I thought Logan wasn't very understanding at all, but he did have point; if Logan thought he was taking it well, I could only imagine how Sabertooth was going to react when Chase visited him again. It would take all the persuasion Chase could muster to calm his father down, I knew, and if he didn't there was a good chance that Sabertooth would come after me.
I clenched my fist. Let him come, I thought fiercely. I'm not scared of him.
A/N: Yes, I know it's a REALLY short chapter, but like the title says, it's really just a prologue for what's coming next. I tried to make it as long as I could, but I fear there's only so much I can do without using too much pointless filler. Please be patient, my friends; the next chapter will be up in good time! ^^
Your humble servant,
-Quill N. Inque