author: Lucinda
rating: pg
Main Characters: Marie. Sort of Cody
disclaimer: not mine. Nobody from Marvel is mine.
distribution: please ask first.
Marie had finished another day of school. She'd turned in the history paper for Miss Munroe's class, and taken a test in English class. She'd done her best to keep busy, and to pretend that she wasn't having The Dreams. It was bad enough that of all the students here at Xavier's, she was the only one who could kill someone with a touch. Well, technically, she didn't know what would happen if she held on too long, but if a brief kiss had left Cody unconscious, what if she touched someone longer? Would they die, or just sleep forever? Which would be worse?
She shivered, hating the direction that her thoughts had taken. But, everyone knew what had happened when she'd touched Logan after his nightmare... Everyone else had to wonder what would happen if she touched someone else. Would they die? Would the sleep forever, hooked to machines to keep their body alive? While nobody had actually asked her to leave, or for Xavier to ask her to leave, well, not that she knew of anyhow, the other students were afraid of her. She could take their powers with a touch... leave them fallen like a broken doll with just one little finger.
It terrified her, and a lot of other people as well. Normal people were afraid of mutants, but the other mutants were afraid of her. Some days she felt like some sort of monster. And she kept wondering what had happened to Cody after she'd run away. She could still remember him there in the corner, his eyes open, staring blindly at her, unmoving, unspeaking, his memories and thoughts bouncing in her head, colliding with her own...
Marie tried to clear her mind, tried to think of nothing as she got herself ready for bed. She didn't want to think, didn't want to ponder how people viewed her mutation, didn't want to wonder what had happened to Cody.
It wasn't long until Marie slept, her body still under the thick comforter, one hand clenched into a fist, the other shoved under her pillow, as if even in her sleep, she feared to touch someone.
The dream started pleasantly enough, if a bit unsettling. The warm Mississippi sun shone down, warming his but I'm not a him skin. The air was filled with the scent of magnolia's and the drone of mosquitoes, and he was walking through tall grass, feeling it swish against his calves, left bare by his shorts. His meanderings took him to a small hill, with a large oak tree on the top, and sitting under the tree, in a pair of cut off shorts and a pale pink crop top was a vision of young beauty. Marie was there, smiling at him, her eyes twinkling with dreams and plans and anticipation for tomorrow. Now, this is just too strange...
"Hey there. Been waiting long?" He sat down beside her, the grass cool in the shade, and settled his hand beside hers, just touching the edge of her hand, their elbows brushing each other.
She smiled at him, one lock of her hair falling in front of her eyes. "Not too long. Some things are worth a bit of a wait."
Leaning over just a bit, he kissed her, and he could feel her melting against his body, her kiss as sweet as honey... he wanted more. Now, this is just too far! That.. it never happened! I don't want to dream about being someone else kissing... me!
The kiss broke, and he looked into her eyes, sparkling bright, and she glanced down, her cheeks turning a most becoming pink. "Cody... I..."
But she never got to finish her words, because suddenly the football team, the Wildcats, was there, and they were hauling him away from Marie, demanding to know what he'd been thinking, didn't he realize that they had a game today, this afternoon, right now? As they hauled him away, the coach was lecturing about how he shouldn't let himself be distracted by a pair of wide eyes and long legs, there would always be pretty girls willing to be the girl of the star Quarterback.
Then, he was in his uniform, the helmet dropped over his head, narrowing his vision, muffling the sounds of the world. He crouched on the football team, facing the opposing team, who were dressed in green and black uniforms. They were all huge, bristling with an impossible amount of muscles, far more than a professional football team would have, let alone a rival high school team. His mind was blank, he had no idea what plays they would use, how they could manage to get past these guys to score.
And the game commenced, in a blur of movement, the bleachers longer and fuller than they'd ever been in reality, the dull roar of the spectators filling his ears, like being underwater. He watched as his team struggled on, and to his horror, his muscles had turned to jelly, and his knees kept wobbling. Every pass he threw was short and off target, every time he tried to run, he moved slightly faster than a turtle. He felt the jarring impact of every tackle, wondering how he had not shattered beneath the force and weight of the other team's players.
Finally, the game ended, and he had managed to botch and fumble every play of the game. They'd lost, and it had been because of him. The other team was surrounded by cheering people, and his team filed past, each person somehow knocking into him, stepping on his foot, bumping his arm, often with cutting words, telling him how he'd failed them, failed the school, the town... how their loss was all his fault.
The crowd was flocking around the other team, laughing and cheering and offering all sorts of congratulations. He stood there on the field, bruised and battered, abandoned and jeered at by his team, his fans forgetting him, wondering how everything had gone so badly. Looking over, he saw one last thing, something that made him ache inside with pain and jealousy and anger.
The other quarterback, the one that had lead the team of giants to victory, had taken off his helmet, smiling at the crowd. With a sudden motion, he'd picked up a dark haired girl in a pale shirt, dainty against his size, and swung her around triumphantly. After the joyful circling, he kissed her, and it was clear that the girl was kissing him back, delighted in his success. It wasn't until they swept past that he got a good look at the face of the girl. It was Marie.
She sat up in the bed, tears streaming down her face, feeling as if her insides had been tied up in a tangled knot. She could remember the feeling of the football helmet, the feeling of the other players crushing her with their tackles... But it wasn't her. It wasn't even her dream, it was Cody's.
Had she really mattered to him? Had she been no more than a 'pair of pretty eyes and legs' or had he seen her as a person, as Marie?
She was too afraid to try to find out. Sniffling from the tears, she dried her face, and returned to her bed, hoping for dreamless sleep.
end Cody.
rating: pg
Main Characters: Marie. Sort of Cody
disclaimer: not mine. Nobody from Marvel is mine.
distribution: please ask first.
Marie had finished another day of school. She'd turned in the history paper for Miss Munroe's class, and taken a test in English class. She'd done her best to keep busy, and to pretend that she wasn't having The Dreams. It was bad enough that of all the students here at Xavier's, she was the only one who could kill someone with a touch. Well, technically, she didn't know what would happen if she held on too long, but if a brief kiss had left Cody unconscious, what if she touched someone longer? Would they die, or just sleep forever? Which would be worse?
She shivered, hating the direction that her thoughts had taken. But, everyone knew what had happened when she'd touched Logan after his nightmare... Everyone else had to wonder what would happen if she touched someone else. Would they die? Would the sleep forever, hooked to machines to keep their body alive? While nobody had actually asked her to leave, or for Xavier to ask her to leave, well, not that she knew of anyhow, the other students were afraid of her. She could take their powers with a touch... leave them fallen like a broken doll with just one little finger.
It terrified her, and a lot of other people as well. Normal people were afraid of mutants, but the other mutants were afraid of her. Some days she felt like some sort of monster. And she kept wondering what had happened to Cody after she'd run away. She could still remember him there in the corner, his eyes open, staring blindly at her, unmoving, unspeaking, his memories and thoughts bouncing in her head, colliding with her own...
Marie tried to clear her mind, tried to think of nothing as she got herself ready for bed. She didn't want to think, didn't want to ponder how people viewed her mutation, didn't want to wonder what had happened to Cody.
It wasn't long until Marie slept, her body still under the thick comforter, one hand clenched into a fist, the other shoved under her pillow, as if even in her sleep, she feared to touch someone.
The dream started pleasantly enough, if a bit unsettling. The warm Mississippi sun shone down, warming his but I'm not a him skin. The air was filled with the scent of magnolia's and the drone of mosquitoes, and he was walking through tall grass, feeling it swish against his calves, left bare by his shorts. His meanderings took him to a small hill, with a large oak tree on the top, and sitting under the tree, in a pair of cut off shorts and a pale pink crop top was a vision of young beauty. Marie was there, smiling at him, her eyes twinkling with dreams and plans and anticipation for tomorrow. Now, this is just too strange...
"Hey there. Been waiting long?" He sat down beside her, the grass cool in the shade, and settled his hand beside hers, just touching the edge of her hand, their elbows brushing each other.
She smiled at him, one lock of her hair falling in front of her eyes. "Not too long. Some things are worth a bit of a wait."
Leaning over just a bit, he kissed her, and he could feel her melting against his body, her kiss as sweet as honey... he wanted more. Now, this is just too far! That.. it never happened! I don't want to dream about being someone else kissing... me!
The kiss broke, and he looked into her eyes, sparkling bright, and she glanced down, her cheeks turning a most becoming pink. "Cody... I..."
But she never got to finish her words, because suddenly the football team, the Wildcats, was there, and they were hauling him away from Marie, demanding to know what he'd been thinking, didn't he realize that they had a game today, this afternoon, right now? As they hauled him away, the coach was lecturing about how he shouldn't let himself be distracted by a pair of wide eyes and long legs, there would always be pretty girls willing to be the girl of the star Quarterback.
Then, he was in his uniform, the helmet dropped over his head, narrowing his vision, muffling the sounds of the world. He crouched on the football team, facing the opposing team, who were dressed in green and black uniforms. They were all huge, bristling with an impossible amount of muscles, far more than a professional football team would have, let alone a rival high school team. His mind was blank, he had no idea what plays they would use, how they could manage to get past these guys to score.
And the game commenced, in a blur of movement, the bleachers longer and fuller than they'd ever been in reality, the dull roar of the spectators filling his ears, like being underwater. He watched as his team struggled on, and to his horror, his muscles had turned to jelly, and his knees kept wobbling. Every pass he threw was short and off target, every time he tried to run, he moved slightly faster than a turtle. He felt the jarring impact of every tackle, wondering how he had not shattered beneath the force and weight of the other team's players.
Finally, the game ended, and he had managed to botch and fumble every play of the game. They'd lost, and it had been because of him. The other team was surrounded by cheering people, and his team filed past, each person somehow knocking into him, stepping on his foot, bumping his arm, often with cutting words, telling him how he'd failed them, failed the school, the town... how their loss was all his fault.
The crowd was flocking around the other team, laughing and cheering and offering all sorts of congratulations. He stood there on the field, bruised and battered, abandoned and jeered at by his team, his fans forgetting him, wondering how everything had gone so badly. Looking over, he saw one last thing, something that made him ache inside with pain and jealousy and anger.
The other quarterback, the one that had lead the team of giants to victory, had taken off his helmet, smiling at the crowd. With a sudden motion, he'd picked up a dark haired girl in a pale shirt, dainty against his size, and swung her around triumphantly. After the joyful circling, he kissed her, and it was clear that the girl was kissing him back, delighted in his success. It wasn't until they swept past that he got a good look at the face of the girl. It was Marie.
She sat up in the bed, tears streaming down her face, feeling as if her insides had been tied up in a tangled knot. She could remember the feeling of the football helmet, the feeling of the other players crushing her with their tackles... But it wasn't her. It wasn't even her dream, it was Cody's.
Had she really mattered to him? Had she been no more than a 'pair of pretty eyes and legs' or had he seen her as a person, as Marie?
She was too afraid to try to find out. Sniffling from the tears, she dried her face, and returned to her bed, hoping for dreamless sleep.
end Cody.