Nobody's Fool by Evanescence
Dinnertime. It was supposed to be a time to form a bond within the school by having everyone eating at the same time. A type of tradition idealistic parents always dreamed of for their families. The thought of it made Logan cringe. It was fine for the kids, even for the ever-loyal X-men, but it just didn't fit for him. He had only stayed with them a little while and their nuances were already getting to him, or he was noticing it more now. There was nothing to balance the bad. Nothing to look forward to, no one.
Logan closed his eyes to the thought. It was too painful to recall in front of everyone. Not here, not now. But every time he called off the memories, it got harder to deal with the rest of them.
"Has Professor Xaviar found where Magneto is, yet?" Rogue asked. Logan gave a rueful smile that, luckily, no one caught. Rogue had a personal vendetta against Magneto and having let him leave without a mark last time probably hurt her ego more than she would admit.
"Nothing, but it's not surprising. That helmet blocks out the Professor almost entirely." Cyclops shook his head. He knew the X-men would probably have to stop anything Magneto was planning.
"Almost?" Ororo looked up from Syren's notebook. She was going over something they had done in class but the comment caught her attention. It seemed they had already sectioned off who their enemies were.
Cyclops took a furtive glance at Syren that no one would have noticed if he wasn't so easy to read. Logan knew that his jaw always tensed when he was unsure of something. "There are transient times that the Professor can listen to Magneto's thoughts. Most seem aimed at the Professor so Magneto might be letting his thoughts out for the Professor to find. We're not sure yet. The Professor needs more time."
Ororo nodded her head and went back to Syren. Logan could hear her tell the girl to ask Jubilee and the girl's response. "I didn't see Jubilee at dinner yet. She goes missing once in awhile."
"Do you know where she goes?" Ororo only got a shake of the head by the girl.
"It seems a couple of students have decided not to show up around the school, Jubilee and that new girl." Cyclops looked toward Logan, aiming his statement more to him. "I think the new one's decided to keep to herself until she can get out of here."
"She's not a student. She only needed a place to stay." Logan wouldn't give him more than he was willing to give.
"Why would she need a place to stay? It's not like she's a mutant, right?" Rogue asked.
Cyclops answered immediately. "We wouldn't know. She ignores us anytime we ask her a question, as if she doesn't want to waste her breath. The only one she seems to talk to is Logan. He's practically the only one that she allows in her room."
"She doesn't talk to me, either." Cyclops raised an eyebrow and Logan rushed to explain. "I only tell her what's what around here. It can get confusing."
"Well, I'm glad she'll know everything about the school and everyone in it when we know nothing about her. No matter how many times we ask her, she won't tell us anything yet you'll tell her all the secrets around here-"
"Did it ever cross your mind that she's unable to talk? Maybe she forgot how to, part of her memory loss or something." Logan was getting annoyed with the discussion of someone who wasn't even here to defend herself. "Everything you ask her she probably doesn't even remember anyway."
"We don't even know her name!" Ororo's exclamation resonated throughout the dining hall and everyone knew who she was talking about. Word around the school went quickly, especially when meals were left at the door of one of the rooms and the empty plates would somehow find themselves back in the kitchen the next morning. She never went to classes but most believed she didn't need to for some reason or another. There were two rumors that went around: that she was too old for the classes or she wasn't even a mutant. Either way, if she did come out of her room, she'd be hard-pressed to find a group that would accept her easily, one she could blend into.
A 'bamf' sound was heard and above them, Kurt was hanging from a chandelier. "I heard you from ze doorway," Kurt said in his German accent. Logan went back to his meal, staying quiet. He wasn't in the mood to argue even though any other time he would have gladly put Cyclops in his place.
"We all know you already like the mute since she's supposed to be more strange-looking than you," Scott said. The way he spat out the word mute, one could see the way he looked down at the woman.
"I have to admit, I vould like to zee her but zat's beside ze point," Kurt said, shaking his head. "Maybe ve shouldn't look at her like zome refugee from nowhere. Maybe she was zent to us, like an angel. She might have a reason to be here, one zat might help us."
"Or harm us." Scott guffawed at the thought of someone calling her an angel. "Sure expects to be treated like some angel. She's not even grateful that the Professor took her in." He lowered his voice and leaned in. "She could be an agent from Magneto or some political friend of Stryker's sent to us.just like an angel." He never liked the idea of someone against them inside the school.
Too close, he kept thinking. If she were to ever hurt anyone here, he's be pressed with time to stop her. Scott leaned back in his chair, looking across the table. "You should have left her Logan." Logan wouldn't look up. He just paused and then left the table, leaving his food at the table.
"After an uncomfortable silence, Bobby unsuccessfully tried to change the subject. "So.what about those Mets?" Rogue looked at him like he just went crazy but the rest just ignored him.
"What about Mystique?" Rogue asked after giving Bobby a hard time. "Have we found her?"
Cyclops hesitated. "We're not sure. She's been seen in very..human places." He emphasized human as if it meant more than what it seemed. "She may not even be with Magneto still. She might have gone solo." His words trailed off as he caught sight of Logan practically dragging the refugee in the room by the elbow. It was almost comical seeing the beast calmly in utter control while the other squirmed under the demanded obedience. Scott could picture Logan barging into her room, she would be outraged, as usual, but couldn't do anything as he grabbed her and brought her down the stairs.
Logan let her go at the doorway and walked back to the table without a word. The woman looked around, noticing the heads turning in her direction and the murmured whispers.
"Is that her?" "Yeah, the new one." "Is she." "How am I supposed to know?" "She doesn't look that out of the ordinary."
The attention was grappling at her stomach but the last comment took away her awareness of the others. Its source seemed as disturbing as the comment. The blue creature stood behind a man that had frequently tried to talk to her. Those sunglasses could not be mistaken. Though, no one around the room seemed to notice the creature. He had a long overcoat on over his dark skin and a tail seemed to swing behind his head. But before she could figure out if he was a figment of her imagination, he disappeared in a black cloud of smoke.
Just another way to hide, Scott thought. Everything she does gives away the fact that she's hiding something; her shifty eyes, her crossed arms, not to mention not speaking or venturing out of her room. She's got a secret that'll come out eventually.
She looked back to the sunglasses, Scott was his name. She knew all their names now. She just needed time to connect Logan's descriptions with faces. It seemed all too easy. Her roaming eyes finally caught the stare directed at her form beneath shades. No matter how long ago it was, she still had the urge to throw something at his cocky head. Her attention was quickly turned away by the sound of scraping metal on the floor as Logan brought a chair beside himself. She sat down, resenting how obedient she was being; it was so out of character for her. But what else could she do? Run back up to her room revealing the terror that was reeking out of her heart. As if she was afraid of the arrogant-
"So where is Mystique now?" Rogue asked, not at all affected but the new girl's presence.
Scott gave her a warning glance. "I'm sure Professor Xavier will let you in on the details when he has them." He turned to the mute, who was now minding her own business, not at all interested in any mystiques. "Our angel will have to meet the Professor sometime soon. He's the guardian you've been living under."
She looked down at the table in a moment of realization. She quickly looked away from them all, determined to ignore them. Instead, Logan shoved a roll under her nose. She grabbed it but gave him a stare that he didn't even look up from his meal to meet.
"How about it, angel? After dinner, you'll talk to Professor Xavier." He emphasized the word 'talk' as if telling her they'd wring any story she had out of her.
"Cut it out." Why did he have a need to stick up for this woman? Logan thought. They were all right about her as far as she showed them. She never even tried to be friendly or even entertained the idea of being involved in anyone's lives. It was as if she wanted to disappear from the face of the earth, and Logan knew that that could not be an option. It was just too easy.
Professor Xavier. The name sounded awfully familiar, as if of all the things to forget, that should have been the last.
By now, the noise level around her was to grating on her nerves.
"I'd love to hear the story she's hiding from all of us-"Scott's
remark was answered by a warning growl.
"Let the Professor deal with it. He'll be able to make her talk."
The red-head seemed like she wanted to leave the girl alone but her
statement didn't comfort the mute.
"But how can I scream without shattering glass?" This came from a
young girl talking to Ororo. She must be the one they call Syren, she
thought.
The mute took a bowl of corn and dumped a bit on the plate in front of her; she was hungrier than she had led on. She hoped the scraping of her fork on her plate would block the immense noise but it had become a dull roar now that the entire room had developed their own conversation.
BAM! A gunshot sounded through her head as if the sound originated there and echoed throughout her brain. Her fork dropped to her plate as she jumped at the sound, making the conversations around her table stopped. All she heard now were men talking.
"What was that?"
"False alarm. Just an animal."
"Keep it quiet. We don't want any suspicions aroused."
"10-4. When are we going in?"
"We'll have the place surrounded by 22 hours and-"
Dinnertime. It was supposed to be a time to form a bond within the school by having everyone eating at the same time. A type of tradition idealistic parents always dreamed of for their families. The thought of it made Logan cringe. It was fine for the kids, even for the ever-loyal X-men, but it just didn't fit for him. He had only stayed with them a little while and their nuances were already getting to him, or he was noticing it more now. There was nothing to balance the bad. Nothing to look forward to, no one.
Logan closed his eyes to the thought. It was too painful to recall in front of everyone. Not here, not now. But every time he called off the memories, it got harder to deal with the rest of them.
"Has Professor Xaviar found where Magneto is, yet?" Rogue asked. Logan gave a rueful smile that, luckily, no one caught. Rogue had a personal vendetta against Magneto and having let him leave without a mark last time probably hurt her ego more than she would admit.
"Nothing, but it's not surprising. That helmet blocks out the Professor almost entirely." Cyclops shook his head. He knew the X-men would probably have to stop anything Magneto was planning.
"Almost?" Ororo looked up from Syren's notebook. She was going over something they had done in class but the comment caught her attention. It seemed they had already sectioned off who their enemies were.
Cyclops took a furtive glance at Syren that no one would have noticed if he wasn't so easy to read. Logan knew that his jaw always tensed when he was unsure of something. "There are transient times that the Professor can listen to Magneto's thoughts. Most seem aimed at the Professor so Magneto might be letting his thoughts out for the Professor to find. We're not sure yet. The Professor needs more time."
Ororo nodded her head and went back to Syren. Logan could hear her tell the girl to ask Jubilee and the girl's response. "I didn't see Jubilee at dinner yet. She goes missing once in awhile."
"Do you know where she goes?" Ororo only got a shake of the head by the girl.
"It seems a couple of students have decided not to show up around the school, Jubilee and that new girl." Cyclops looked toward Logan, aiming his statement more to him. "I think the new one's decided to keep to herself until she can get out of here."
"She's not a student. She only needed a place to stay." Logan wouldn't give him more than he was willing to give.
"Why would she need a place to stay? It's not like she's a mutant, right?" Rogue asked.
Cyclops answered immediately. "We wouldn't know. She ignores us anytime we ask her a question, as if she doesn't want to waste her breath. The only one she seems to talk to is Logan. He's practically the only one that she allows in her room."
"She doesn't talk to me, either." Cyclops raised an eyebrow and Logan rushed to explain. "I only tell her what's what around here. It can get confusing."
"Well, I'm glad she'll know everything about the school and everyone in it when we know nothing about her. No matter how many times we ask her, she won't tell us anything yet you'll tell her all the secrets around here-"
"Did it ever cross your mind that she's unable to talk? Maybe she forgot how to, part of her memory loss or something." Logan was getting annoyed with the discussion of someone who wasn't even here to defend herself. "Everything you ask her she probably doesn't even remember anyway."
"We don't even know her name!" Ororo's exclamation resonated throughout the dining hall and everyone knew who she was talking about. Word around the school went quickly, especially when meals were left at the door of one of the rooms and the empty plates would somehow find themselves back in the kitchen the next morning. She never went to classes but most believed she didn't need to for some reason or another. There were two rumors that went around: that she was too old for the classes or she wasn't even a mutant. Either way, if she did come out of her room, she'd be hard-pressed to find a group that would accept her easily, one she could blend into.
A 'bamf' sound was heard and above them, Kurt was hanging from a chandelier. "I heard you from ze doorway," Kurt said in his German accent. Logan went back to his meal, staying quiet. He wasn't in the mood to argue even though any other time he would have gladly put Cyclops in his place.
"We all know you already like the mute since she's supposed to be more strange-looking than you," Scott said. The way he spat out the word mute, one could see the way he looked down at the woman.
"I have to admit, I vould like to zee her but zat's beside ze point," Kurt said, shaking his head. "Maybe ve shouldn't look at her like zome refugee from nowhere. Maybe she was zent to us, like an angel. She might have a reason to be here, one zat might help us."
"Or harm us." Scott guffawed at the thought of someone calling her an angel. "Sure expects to be treated like some angel. She's not even grateful that the Professor took her in." He lowered his voice and leaned in. "She could be an agent from Magneto or some political friend of Stryker's sent to us.just like an angel." He never liked the idea of someone against them inside the school.
Too close, he kept thinking. If she were to ever hurt anyone here, he's be pressed with time to stop her. Scott leaned back in his chair, looking across the table. "You should have left her Logan." Logan wouldn't look up. He just paused and then left the table, leaving his food at the table.
"After an uncomfortable silence, Bobby unsuccessfully tried to change the subject. "So.what about those Mets?" Rogue looked at him like he just went crazy but the rest just ignored him.
"What about Mystique?" Rogue asked after giving Bobby a hard time. "Have we found her?"
Cyclops hesitated. "We're not sure. She's been seen in very..human places." He emphasized human as if it meant more than what it seemed. "She may not even be with Magneto still. She might have gone solo." His words trailed off as he caught sight of Logan practically dragging the refugee in the room by the elbow. It was almost comical seeing the beast calmly in utter control while the other squirmed under the demanded obedience. Scott could picture Logan barging into her room, she would be outraged, as usual, but couldn't do anything as he grabbed her and brought her down the stairs.
Logan let her go at the doorway and walked back to the table without a word. The woman looked around, noticing the heads turning in her direction and the murmured whispers.
"Is that her?" "Yeah, the new one." "Is she." "How am I supposed to know?" "She doesn't look that out of the ordinary."
The attention was grappling at her stomach but the last comment took away her awareness of the others. Its source seemed as disturbing as the comment. The blue creature stood behind a man that had frequently tried to talk to her. Those sunglasses could not be mistaken. Though, no one around the room seemed to notice the creature. He had a long overcoat on over his dark skin and a tail seemed to swing behind his head. But before she could figure out if he was a figment of her imagination, he disappeared in a black cloud of smoke.
Just another way to hide, Scott thought. Everything she does gives away the fact that she's hiding something; her shifty eyes, her crossed arms, not to mention not speaking or venturing out of her room. She's got a secret that'll come out eventually.
She looked back to the sunglasses, Scott was his name. She knew all their names now. She just needed time to connect Logan's descriptions with faces. It seemed all too easy. Her roaming eyes finally caught the stare directed at her form beneath shades. No matter how long ago it was, she still had the urge to throw something at his cocky head. Her attention was quickly turned away by the sound of scraping metal on the floor as Logan brought a chair beside himself. She sat down, resenting how obedient she was being; it was so out of character for her. But what else could she do? Run back up to her room revealing the terror that was reeking out of her heart. As if she was afraid of the arrogant-
"So where is Mystique now?" Rogue asked, not at all affected but the new girl's presence.
Scott gave her a warning glance. "I'm sure Professor Xavier will let you in on the details when he has them." He turned to the mute, who was now minding her own business, not at all interested in any mystiques. "Our angel will have to meet the Professor sometime soon. He's the guardian you've been living under."
She looked down at the table in a moment of realization. She quickly looked away from them all, determined to ignore them. Instead, Logan shoved a roll under her nose. She grabbed it but gave him a stare that he didn't even look up from his meal to meet.
"How about it, angel? After dinner, you'll talk to Professor Xavier." He emphasized the word 'talk' as if telling her they'd wring any story she had out of her.
"Cut it out." Why did he have a need to stick up for this woman? Logan thought. They were all right about her as far as she showed them. She never even tried to be friendly or even entertained the idea of being involved in anyone's lives. It was as if she wanted to disappear from the face of the earth, and Logan knew that that could not be an option. It was just too easy.
Professor Xavier. The name sounded awfully familiar, as if of all the things to forget, that should have been the last.
By now, the noise level around her was to grating on her nerves.
"I'd love to hear the story she's hiding from all of us-"Scott's
remark was answered by a warning growl.
"Let the Professor deal with it. He'll be able to make her talk."
The red-head seemed like she wanted to leave the girl alone but her
statement didn't comfort the mute.
"But how can I scream without shattering glass?" This came from a
young girl talking to Ororo. She must be the one they call Syren, she
thought.
The mute took a bowl of corn and dumped a bit on the plate in front of her; she was hungrier than she had led on. She hoped the scraping of her fork on her plate would block the immense noise but it had become a dull roar now that the entire room had developed their own conversation.
BAM! A gunshot sounded through her head as if the sound originated there and echoed throughout her brain. Her fork dropped to her plate as she jumped at the sound, making the conversations around her table stopped. All she heard now were men talking.
"What was that?"
"False alarm. Just an animal."
"Keep it quiet. We don't want any suspicions aroused."
"10-4. When are we going in?"
"We'll have the place surrounded by 22 hours and-"