Somewhere I Belong

Chapter 5

Charles opened his mouth to respond to Logan's last statement when there was a knock at the door. Closing his mouth, Charles' brow furrowed in concentration, then confusion.

"Come in, Kurt," he finally said, loudly. Logan and Ororo both turned and saw the door open to show Kurt, but when it opened wider, a girl was standing next to the blue elf, a girl with silver skin, magenta hair and large wings.

"Aah, Professor. This girl wants to talk with you," he motioned to the girl next to him.

Logan stood up from his chair. "That's-" he began, but Shay finished for him.

"-the girl this afternoon. Yeah," Shay said, more then a little irritated. She looked from Logan to the man behind the desk. "I was hoping to talk with you, Professor Xavier."

Charles stared at the girl for a few quiet moments. Shay began fidgeting under all the scrutiny. Her eyes darted from the Professor to Logan, then to the woman in the back, finally back to Xavier, who was now smiling at her.

"Ororo, Logan. Would you both leave us alone for a few moments," Xavier finally spoke. The two adults looked to each other, then left the room, Ororo pushing Kurt out ahead of them.

When they were alone, Shay finally let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. They were both quiet as they studied each other, though finally the smile on Xavier's face widened and he asked Shay if she'd like to have a seat. Folding her wings up tight against her body, Shay slumped into the seat Logan had just vacated.

"Now, what did you want to talk about, Miss…?" Xavier began once Shay was finally seated.

"Shay. Just Shay."

"Alright, Shay. How can I help you?"

Shay swallowed, suddenly thinking how stupid this all was. "Well, um… Ok. Something's been happening to me for the past couple of weeks. When I touch someone, I kinda take their pain away, like I heal them."

"That explains what happened with Kitty earlier today," Xavier said as he folded his hands atop of his desk.

"Yeah. But I'm kinda old for a new mutation, though it's not like I can change it. But I can't control it either." Shay stopped suddenly, realizing she was rambling. She felt her face blush. "Sorry."

"No, Shay. I want you to tell me everything that's been happening with your new mutation."

Shay stared at Xavier for a few silent moments, deciding what to do. Now that she was actually in the office with Xavier, this all seemed really stupid. Taking a deep breath, Shay looked down at her hands and began speaking slowly.

"I touched this kid, down in the Alley. He was hurt and I was helping him up, that's all I wanted to do. But when my hand touched him, this bright white light appeared, from my hands and his, where I was touching him."

Shay finally looked up from her open hands, straight at Xavier. "I healed him. The cut on his arm, it was gone. A few hours later, when I was alone, I found that-" and she stopped, trying to figure out what to say next.

Granted, she wanted Xavier's help but he didn't need to know her whole bloody past. Choosing her words carefully, Shay finished her sentence. "I found that an old scar of mine had reopened and was bleeding again, like it had just been cut."

"You developed a wound from the healing?" Xavier asked her.

Shay nodded. "Then with Kitty, I don't know, Professor. I just wanted to wake her up, get her off the street. I put my hand on her face, and just like that, my head started spinning, everything got fuzzy."

Xavier was silent after Shay finished, though it was obvious he was deep in thought. Shay knew he was a powerful telepath, causing her to wonder what that meant he could do.

"It seems, Shay, that you're beginning to show signs of a weak healing mutation. Weak now, but with practice, you will not manifest the wounds yourself."

"With practice?"

"Yes."

Shay looked down again, face falling. "I'll get the chalk," she muttered to herself. Xavier opened his mouth to reply, but Shay stood up from her chair. "Thanks, Professor, but I can 'practice' this thing on my own." She was already moving towards the door. "Thank you for speaking with me," she finished as she placed a hand on the doorknob.

"Shay, have you ever been to school?" Xavier's calm voice suddenly coming from nowhere stopped her.

She turned and looked at him, shaking her head.

"If you stay with us, we will help you with this new mutation. You may also attend any classes you wish."

Shay's hand slipped off the knob. "Really?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Xavier smiled. "Yes."

Biting her lip again, Shay moved back towards the desk. In her mind flashed the image of Magneto, his words coming back to her.

"Xavier is not the one you need. He's not a help to mutants, but to our enemies, the humans who hate us. You of all people should know how much this hate hurts."

Was she truly going to get help from Xavier? Was she making the wrong choice in staying at the Institute? But then Shay thought, free room, free meals, free education, free training. Where in the hell was the problem with this scenario?

"I must leave, but I want to tell you that there will be an open spot for you, if Xavier can not help you."

An open spot just in case…

"Ok, I'll stay," Shay said finally, causing Xavier to smile again.

"Good. We'll help you Shay, don't worry."

Shay just continued to smile at him, Magneto's words still echoing in her head.

****Notes****

Er, let's see. I just got back from Canada, so I decided to be nice and update this with the next chapter. I still haven't completed the whole story, but I'm almost there. Just a few ending parts and everything will be done. Already working on the sequel and a crossover I'll be doing with Blade later on. Oh yeah, I probably should have just tacked this onto the end of chapter 4, but I'm a spaz and decided to make it it's own chapter.