Aria stood perfectly still. Her shoulders were drawn up but she wasn't
crying. Her hands were in her pockets and her hair was surrounding her
face. Rogue snapped out of her trance and tied the cloth around her arm. It
was almost as if you could hear a pin drop in the overcrowded building.
Then the whispering started. Voices swept over the entire crowd and
reminded Rogue of her head, with all of the psyches she had absorbed.
Still, Aria did not move. She didn't run, she didn't lash out, she break down. She just stood there, as if she were invisible. Rogue caught snatches of the whispers and it just made her anger resurface. This girl had just done the most wondrous thing and it was the single most generous thing anyone in Bayville had ever done for her. The whispering continued and gained volume until Rogue couldn't stand it anymore.
"Shut the hell up!!!!!"
The response was immediate. Everyone got quiet and stared at her. Even her fellow X-men were surprised by the outburst. The tension in the room was mounting and it was almost palpable.
"All of ya are a disgrace t' humankind! No wonder some mutants want t' take ovah the world. None of ya are any bettah than the dirt on the bottom o' mah boot if yah'll are gonna judge her by her appearance."
Her southern accent had come out in her fury and the fleeting thought of whether or not they actually understood her skipped across her mind. She stormed over to Aria and lightly placed her hand on the silent girl's shoulder.
"C'mon, we don't need this. There's better places than this for us."
Rogue looked into Aria's eyes for a moment and the emotions held there were incredible. It was like she was a little child again waiting to be told everything would be ok. Rogue knew she had wounded Aria when she stared at her. She was alone again but this time the others knew she was a mutant. The worst part was that she couldn't hide with the others. She was alone.
"Outta my way!!" There was a commotion at the back of the room and students were scrambling to get out of the way. The x-men knew it was Blob but Aria had no idea what was going on.
"Hey Rogue," Pietro drawled, in his usual smug tone. "Whatcha got here? A new recruit?" The grin on his face grated on Rogue's nerves and if he weren't so fast she would have slapped him.
"No." Aria's voice was quiet and subdued.
"Oh, so she speaks. What are you doing the X-geeks then? I've never seen you help them out before."
"I'm new in Bayville."
"Hmmmmm. That still doesn't explain why you're hanging out with them."
"I. I'm not. I'm alone." Aria looked up at Pietro and her stare almost broke him. He fell down and got up so fast that she only saw him falter and stumble for a moment. The resignation in her eyes told him that she really was alone. A pang of sorrow flitted through him for the poor girl.
"So if you're not with them, and you're alone like you say, why don't you come with us?" He swept his hand around to include the rest of the Brotherhood.
"Back off, Pietro. She's better off with us than ya'll."
"But isn't that her decision? What if she doesn't want to go with you? Hmmmmm?"
"Ah just don' want her t' end up in a mess with ya'll that she can't get out of."
"What do you want me to do? Promise to protect her personally?"
"Don' flattah yah'self Speedy. The professah can give her more than ya silly 'boarding house' evah could."
"Stop this right now!" Scott came forward and put a hand on Rogue's shoulder.
"I don't know what you think you're doing trying to order me around Shades. I'm with the Brotherhood and I don't take orders from no one."
"Correction Pietro. Even if I'm not your official leader you're still obligated to take orders from me."
Lance walked right past Pietro and up to Aria. He held out his hand in a friendly manner and waited for her to shake hands with him. She timidly stretched out her right hand and let her fingers slide gently across his palm. He smiled warmly at her and something flickered between them before the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. Lance was quickly swept away in the crowd but Aria saw a wistful smile play across his lips before he was gone from her sight.
She sighed and picked up her bag, preparing to go to class but then she stopped. The bag was forgotten and she stood up straight, shutting her eyes while she did so. Her heartbeat rang in her ears and her breathing slowed down to match it. All around her there were minute changes occurring in the consistency of the air and her hair began to change. The red on the tips crept up the strands of silver and Aria began to whimper.
"Stop it! Don't come out now. Please! I can't do this right now. Later, I promise."
With those last few words the red subsided back to the very ends and flashed golden for a moment before going back to a dull burgundy. She glanced down at her watch and swore under her breath before dashing out of the empty cafeteria. She was going to be late to Physics if she didn't hurry.
As she passed a door in the hallway her sixth sense picked up something. The door was cracked open slightly and she went over to it. As she peeked through the crack the sight surprised her. A blue woman was holding the principal, whom she had met earlier that day, upside-down. Her hair was bright red and she was clad in a two-piece black bodysuit. Words were passing between them and she caught a few snippets of it.
"Leave them alone. Her associations aren't your business.... Not a mutant, got it?"
The woman abruptly dropped Principal Kelly and headed for the door, morphing her appearance into that of a student as she did so. Aria barely had time to get out of the way before she would get caught. As Mystique opened the door she found a curious breeze rushing through the hallway that reminded her of Pietro. She cautiously looked around for a moment before morphing into a pigeon and scuttling down the hallway to find the window she had come in through. Just as she was about to take flight a pair of hands grabbed her. She struggled but couldn't break free and didn't morph back for fear that it was just a student who was passing through and saw a bird. A sharp pain throbbed in her neck for a moment before she began to pass out.
**
Silver Smiles: Thank you for caring about my review box. I'm glad someone cares.
This chapter took forever to type because I had so much homework. They should come more regularly as long as I can keep writing during Spanish 4 class.
Still, Aria did not move. She didn't run, she didn't lash out, she break down. She just stood there, as if she were invisible. Rogue caught snatches of the whispers and it just made her anger resurface. This girl had just done the most wondrous thing and it was the single most generous thing anyone in Bayville had ever done for her. The whispering continued and gained volume until Rogue couldn't stand it anymore.
"Shut the hell up!!!!!"
The response was immediate. Everyone got quiet and stared at her. Even her fellow X-men were surprised by the outburst. The tension in the room was mounting and it was almost palpable.
"All of ya are a disgrace t' humankind! No wonder some mutants want t' take ovah the world. None of ya are any bettah than the dirt on the bottom o' mah boot if yah'll are gonna judge her by her appearance."
Her southern accent had come out in her fury and the fleeting thought of whether or not they actually understood her skipped across her mind. She stormed over to Aria and lightly placed her hand on the silent girl's shoulder.
"C'mon, we don't need this. There's better places than this for us."
Rogue looked into Aria's eyes for a moment and the emotions held there were incredible. It was like she was a little child again waiting to be told everything would be ok. Rogue knew she had wounded Aria when she stared at her. She was alone again but this time the others knew she was a mutant. The worst part was that she couldn't hide with the others. She was alone.
"Outta my way!!" There was a commotion at the back of the room and students were scrambling to get out of the way. The x-men knew it was Blob but Aria had no idea what was going on.
"Hey Rogue," Pietro drawled, in his usual smug tone. "Whatcha got here? A new recruit?" The grin on his face grated on Rogue's nerves and if he weren't so fast she would have slapped him.
"No." Aria's voice was quiet and subdued.
"Oh, so she speaks. What are you doing the X-geeks then? I've never seen you help them out before."
"I'm new in Bayville."
"Hmmmmm. That still doesn't explain why you're hanging out with them."
"I. I'm not. I'm alone." Aria looked up at Pietro and her stare almost broke him. He fell down and got up so fast that she only saw him falter and stumble for a moment. The resignation in her eyes told him that she really was alone. A pang of sorrow flitted through him for the poor girl.
"So if you're not with them, and you're alone like you say, why don't you come with us?" He swept his hand around to include the rest of the Brotherhood.
"Back off, Pietro. She's better off with us than ya'll."
"But isn't that her decision? What if she doesn't want to go with you? Hmmmmm?"
"Ah just don' want her t' end up in a mess with ya'll that she can't get out of."
"What do you want me to do? Promise to protect her personally?"
"Don' flattah yah'self Speedy. The professah can give her more than ya silly 'boarding house' evah could."
"Stop this right now!" Scott came forward and put a hand on Rogue's shoulder.
"I don't know what you think you're doing trying to order me around Shades. I'm with the Brotherhood and I don't take orders from no one."
"Correction Pietro. Even if I'm not your official leader you're still obligated to take orders from me."
Lance walked right past Pietro and up to Aria. He held out his hand in a friendly manner and waited for her to shake hands with him. She timidly stretched out her right hand and let her fingers slide gently across his palm. He smiled warmly at her and something flickered between them before the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. Lance was quickly swept away in the crowd but Aria saw a wistful smile play across his lips before he was gone from her sight.
She sighed and picked up her bag, preparing to go to class but then she stopped. The bag was forgotten and she stood up straight, shutting her eyes while she did so. Her heartbeat rang in her ears and her breathing slowed down to match it. All around her there were minute changes occurring in the consistency of the air and her hair began to change. The red on the tips crept up the strands of silver and Aria began to whimper.
"Stop it! Don't come out now. Please! I can't do this right now. Later, I promise."
With those last few words the red subsided back to the very ends and flashed golden for a moment before going back to a dull burgundy. She glanced down at her watch and swore under her breath before dashing out of the empty cafeteria. She was going to be late to Physics if she didn't hurry.
As she passed a door in the hallway her sixth sense picked up something. The door was cracked open slightly and she went over to it. As she peeked through the crack the sight surprised her. A blue woman was holding the principal, whom she had met earlier that day, upside-down. Her hair was bright red and she was clad in a two-piece black bodysuit. Words were passing between them and she caught a few snippets of it.
"Leave them alone. Her associations aren't your business.... Not a mutant, got it?"
The woman abruptly dropped Principal Kelly and headed for the door, morphing her appearance into that of a student as she did so. Aria barely had time to get out of the way before she would get caught. As Mystique opened the door she found a curious breeze rushing through the hallway that reminded her of Pietro. She cautiously looked around for a moment before morphing into a pigeon and scuttling down the hallway to find the window she had come in through. Just as she was about to take flight a pair of hands grabbed her. She struggled but couldn't break free and didn't morph back for fear that it was just a student who was passing through and saw a bird. A sharp pain throbbed in her neck for a moment before she began to pass out.
**
Silver Smiles: Thank you for caring about my review box. I'm glad someone cares.
This chapter took forever to type because I had so much homework. They should come more regularly as long as I can keep writing during Spanish 4 class.