Continuation of: "Centripetal"
KORA
I wake up wrapped around Jubilee. I think I'm crying. She doesn't seem angry at me for it. She just rocks me, telling me not to be sorry, the dream wasn't my fault. I can't stop crying, but I don't know why.
Adam's in the room now and he's holding onto me. He's doing it as much for his own comfort as mine, I think. I don't mind. I like being touched, especially hair-brushing. Nanny used to do that for me.
Asher and Victor come in together, Victor with long, confident strides and Asher more hesitantly. He keeps looking around the room for sunlight. The blinds are drawn tight, he shouldn't worry. He climbs on the bed beside Adam while Victor lifts Jubilee into his arms, lays down beside me, and leaves Jubilee draped over his body.
I am comforted by them. I know them better than any other living being. They know me, I'm not dead to them. I am safe with them.
METHOS
It feels nice to just be held like this. But as nice as the warmth and press of bodies is, nature calls. Loudly.
I untangle myself from the bed reluctantly, the warmth of the room not any competition for the warmth of physical contact. I find the bathroom and use it. At the last minute, I decide to hop into the shower. The heat of the water embracing me is more of a match for sleeping against the others, but still not really comparable.
By the time I make it out of the shower, Jubilee's pulled herself off of Creed. The other three curl in on each other like a litter of kittens. *Awww.*
*Shh. Let em sleep. They're not nightmarin' it anymore.* She stretches, the 'Tool' shirt from the dream lifting up to her stomach, showing off a golden tan.
Remembering what Creed had us practice last night, I imagine pulling a multicolored string up to my lips. *Downstairs for breakfast?* Judging by the lack of someone on the bed throwing a pillow and telling me to shut up, I must have succeeded.
*Actually, we'll have to go out. Vic told me to just pick up some money and get food. Lemme get dressed and we can pick up something from Denny's.* She yawns and stretches again, then moves to her bag and pulls out a pair of jeans. She strips off her black shorts and pulls the jeans on, pulling her sneakers on without socks. I watch her run her fingers through her short hair a couple times and nod. *Okay, let's get food.*
I wish all women got ready that quickly.
*Waitaminute... Isn't that what you wore last night?* She wrinkles her nose at me. I fight the urge to poke her in the nose.
*Isn't that shirt what you wore last night?* I run my hands down my shirt, comfortable in it. The jeans were a little more difficult to sleep in, but I managed. I don't like sleeping naked anymore. It's too difficult to concentrate on sword fighting when you're freezing cold and hanging in the wind.
*Nope. It's the shirt I slept in. There's a difference.*
*Whatever. Let's just go.*
CREED
I wake up hugging Kora like a teddy bear and no matter how much my ego protests, I can't seem to pull myself away. On her other side is Asher. We're missing two people.
I mentally grasp at the multicolored string that is Jubilee. *Hey, do you have Adam with you?*
A moment passes before she answers. *Yup. We're at the Denny's a couple streets over. Borrowed your car. Want anything to eat?*
Waitaminute... *You borrowed my Lamborghini!? I didn't tell you where the keys are!* Sure, she can have the security system number and the money in the fridge, but my car? No way!
*Yeah, well. Ya know, if you just pop a few wires here and touch 'em together there, ya get a pretty good purring sound. It was a piece of... mmm... bacon.*
Uh. *My car is a piece of bacon?*
Tastes flood my mouth. Orange juice, toast with strawberry jam, and bacon drizzled with maple syrup. My stomach rumbles.
*Dude, this is so good. I'll bring some home for Kora. Maybe we can stop to pick up twinkies while we're out. I'll bet she's never had one.*
*You will bring me that bacon, a tall stack of pancakes, sausages, french toast, and canadian bacon. Then you will return with my car and put all the wires back where you found them. Oh, and bring Kora an order of waffles with strawberries.*
*Sheesh. I'm tellin' you, the car is fine. I'll even bring it back without a scratch!* She doesn't comment on my menu choices. Must be used to it from her time with the runt.
*Maybe Adam should drive it back.* Now I'm just teasing her. Kora shifts in her sleep, her leg twisting with mine. I rub my fingers through her hair and she settles back down.
*Adam doesn't have an American license. Says he has one at the post office, along with some credit cards, but he hasn't picked it up yet.*
That means he's used to traveling and changing identification. He will have to pick that up soon. *Well hurry it up. Kore's not awake yet, but I'm hungry.*
*Tell it to someone who doesn't know you're a bottomless stomach, Creed.* I echo her laughter, surprisingly comfortable with the light teasing in a way I never was before. Before, I probably would have gutted someone for saying that to me. Weird.
I drop Jubilee's multicolored thread and pick up the one that flashes like lightning, Adam's string. *Make sure she brings that car back in one piece.*
I can feel his lopsided grin and taste the black coffee when he answers. *She's actually a good driver, a little fast but real comfortable with the turns. She said something about hot-wiring a souped up jet in her younger years. I didn't believe her until she was behind the wheel of your baby.*
A tight spot in my chest loosens. *Oh, good.*
He chuckles again. *Relax, it's in good hands.*
*Doesn't matter. The fact that it's not in my hands is what bothers me.* Ow. I feel the coffee rush up his nose as he tries to laugh while drinking.
*Gee, thanks.* Well, it's a good thing he heals as fast as I do. Hot liquid in your nasal passages can get pretty uncomfortable.
*No problem.*
JUBILEE
Whatever Creed said to Adam must have been good. I've never seen anyone get distance that good with nasal projections. Must be the big nose. The poor guy looks so pathetic right now, his face still purplish and a napkin just over his lips. I offer him some of my orange juice but he refuses it. He glares at me and I shrug.
I snag a passing waitress and add Creed's order, as well as Kora's, to the bill and tell her to make it take-out. She blinks at the amount of food but nods and goes away. I sit back in the chair feeling so full I could burst.
"So you know about my nightmare. What happened in yours?"
I hope I don't look as startled as I feel. "I didn't have one. I just got lost out in the front yard for awhile. Creed found me wandering around." I don't tell him about how I had been calling out for Logan or Emma, for Jono and Ange and Ev. I don't tell him about how the trees seemed to stare at me with disapproval while the wind howled out my every weakness. I tell him I was lost when I meant I was ignored.
I don't think he believes me. "Why the bullshit, Jae? You're talking to me, remember? I was around before bullshit was even invented, so don't fuck with me."
I look him dead on, hoping he'll take the hint and back down. "I don't know what you mean."
He doesn't. "The happy-smiley mask. The whole "Life is a bowl of laughs" attitude. I know about your wrist and I know that you ran away from your home. You don't do that when life is just peachy-keen."
I stiffen, tension washing away the drowsy content the food had engendered. "I'm fine. Life isn't great but there's nothing bad. Nothing is wrong."
He just looks at me with an expression of someone who understands what I'm saying and what I'm not. I sigh and let go of the last mask I hid myself behind.
"I was kidnapped a few months ago. A guy named Bastion, a mutant-hater, did it. He tortured me, wanting information on the X-ers. I didn't break for him, though. I didn't." I'd prefer to keep this private, to not have anyone overhear my soft words, but I can't bring myself to tell him via the link. It's too intimate for this. I need something to distance myself, or I'll start crying.
"I kept thinking that they would come rescue me, you know? The X-Men, Gen-X, Wolverine... I spent a month waiting for them to pull me out. After that, I just gave up on them. The guards had started... hurting me at night." I shift uncomfortably in the bench-seat, my hands twisting on the table. "A girl named Daria helped me out about two months after I was first abducted. I was gone for two fucking months and when I got back, they basically said, "Oh, hi. You're back." Then I found out that the guy who had my parents killed sent his son to my school. In an amazing show of support, my one-time roommate Paige started dating him. Then my room blew up and my best bud died."
I sigh and slump over the table, the release of finally letting go of all of that crap inside exhausting me. "Ya know, I think I would have been fine if I had someone to talk to, but they never noticed me. Jono was always angsting about Paige dating Rat-boy, Ange was angsting about wanting the same girl as Jono, Paige was stuck in super-bitch mode, and Monet was concentrating on being better than me. Then my schoolmaster, Cassidy, was lusting after Frost while Frost was too busy crying over her loss of money. No one was willing to look beyond themselves. They all wanted me to be the little girl who always cracked jokes and made them smile, so that's all they saw."
Adam reaches across the table for my hand. His warmth and concern wash over me in a comforting wave. "When I called up Wolverine to ask him to come by so I could talk to him, he told me Kitty needed him cuz she was havin' relationship problems. Relationship problems! I was kidnapped, raped, had my belongings blown up and my best friend buried, but Kitty needed him more."
Finally, I feel the anger stirring up inside me. Something other than the overwhelming press of sorrow. Anger I can work with. Anger can keep me alive. Anything is better than the sorrow. "That was the night I cut myself. Angelo found me in my room and Frost patched me up. They sent me back to the X-Mansion like some reject. They didn't want to deal with me so they sent me off to be with people I haven't lived with in years. And those people? I couldn't stand 'em anymore. All the looks and all the whispers. They were all talking about me but not too me, ya know? I spent three days there before packin' it up and headin' out. Yesterday was my first day on my own."
"You know, you're a lot braver than any of them give you credit for. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for." Adam watches me with his solemn eyes, the familiar look of pity not touching him. His eyes tell me he cares. "You think they treat you like a child, but you've lived through more shit in your eighteen years than most people do in their whole lives. It's made you grow up quickly and unfortunately, they couldn't see that. They wanted to see the innocence they fought for instead of the strength of you. You are mature beyond your years. Your heart is open, your intentions are good, and you care about people. One of the greatest tragedies is that people who do deal with trauma lose the ability to care, but you've held on. Just because they're idiots and can't see you doesn't mean you and your strength aren't there. It just means that they have blinded themselves."
And just like that, the weight lifts.
Oh, the past few months of pure pain hasn't gone away and yes, it still hurts like a bitch, but now I'm not alone. I have a friend here, and he's not going to leave me. I actually feel like I can go on now.
ASHER
I awaken to the taste of strawberries.
Tears spring to my eyes as I taste a fruit I haven't been able to eat in over three hundred years and for a moment, I wonder how. Then I remember the link and I mentally rejoice.
My time sense tells me that the day hasn't ended. A glance at the clock confirms that it's only just after noon. I haven't been awake this early in a long time.
Glancing around, I realize I'm alone in the girl's room.
*Do you like the strawberries, Asher?* It's Kora projecting the familiar tastes to me. She's in the kitchen listening to Victor rant about having his car taken for a joyride. Jubilee's threatening to eat his bacon. I get the feeling that I missed something.
Following Victor's instructions from last night, I "pick up" the iridescent string that defines Kora's personality and tell her, *Very much so, Kora. Thank you. They were my favorite fruit when I was a child.*
*I like them too. They're on waffles with syrup and powdered sugar. It's very sweet.*
She takes a bite of her waffles and the flavors explode on my tongue. Delicious. This is something a vampire could do with a human servant, so I'm not shocked that it's happening, but I am pleasantly surprised. I've missed the taste of food.
*Come downstairs? We can draw the blinds.*
I'm about to refuse, I'd prefer to stay in this one room where the chance of getting hit by sunlight and being burned to death is cut down, but Victor sends up a, *Come on down. We have to talk.*
I sigh and slip out of the bed, the navy blue pajama bottoms still hugging my hips. *I'll be down.*
I carefully avoid all patches of sunlight as I make my way over to the kitchen. True to her word, Kora had made sure all the blinds were closed. The only light in the room comes from the harsh florescent light. Kora and Adam are both in the clothes they wore the night before, but Victor and Jubilee had changed into new clothes. I was the only one still ready for bed. Oh well, it's only about midnight in my world. I should still be asleep.
"Is something wrong?"
Jubilee, with her face pinched and sullen, gestures impolitely at Victor. "He wants to send me to the X-Men. I just got out of there! Why should I go back?"
*All I'm sayin' is that you're the only one of us that can get in there and find out more information on telepathic bonds. I know I certainly can't.* Victor is busily eating the vast amounts of food spread throughout the myriad styrofoam boxes.
"They're not going to trust me now! I fricken ran away! Besides, if I do show up, they'll be watching me like a hawk. I won't be able to do anything." Jubilee began to pace. There's something different about her but I can't figure out what.
*So take Kora with you. Tell 'em you found her on the street after goin' clubbin' last night. You'll get in trouble for sneaking out but they'll be more interested in her than where you were last night.*
There's a bright flash of pain from Jubilee before it disappears, her face closing itself off from emotion. Adam wraps a hand around her arm, sending a wave of comfort. After a moment, Jubilee sighs and the pain returns to her face. That was it. All the emotion is on her face, not just the little smile she always seemed to exude. It's like a mask had been ripped away.
"Yeah, yer right. They won't care."
Victor stops shoveling the food into his mouth. He just watches her. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's not yer fault." Jubilee runs her hands through her chin length hair in a nervous gesture. "Okay, if Kora comes with me, I should be able to handle it. What will you be doin'?"
Victor returns to eating, this time more slowly. *I'm gonna sell a few things, gonna buy a few things. Basically get ready for a nice, long, cross-country trip. Got some place you wanna visit?*
"Wait, we're leaving New York?" For the first time today, I interrupt.
Jubilee sends me her patent "Are you for real?" look. "O' course we're leaving. I need to get out of the area fast once I ditch the X-er's again, and we need to work on figuring out what this bond can do. There's no point in goin' out into the world and kickin' a little ass when you can kick a big one, ya know?"
I find myself thumping Victor on the back when he tries to both swallow and snort at the same time. There are some things I don't miss about eating.
"I can go to Paris. I've got a little unfinished business there and we can find out if the bond has a distance limit." Adam looks at us, gauging our reactions. I'm fine with it. Victor and Jubilee seem interesting in finding out if there's a straining point. Kora looks like she's actually paying attention to the conversation, which is a step up from last night.
"I should probably go back to St. Louis for a few days. When and where should we meet up again?"
It's Victor who answers my question. "You and Adam meet me here within six days. Come back sooner if you want, but not later. On the seventh day, we'll pick the gi- ladies up."
Jubilee just smirks. "Pick me up at the X-Mansion? That ought to go over well."
"You're eighteen years old. What're they gonna do, lock you up and throw away the key?" Kora shifts uncomfortably at Victor's poor choice of words. That was exactly what her parents had done.
"Look, we'll get you out of there. If you have too much trouble with them, call me up and I'll spring ya early. No problem."
Jubilee watches Victor hard, judging whether or not to trust that he can take care of her. She apparently finds what she's looking for because she nods and says, "Fine. Kora and I leave tonight."