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Bobby looks around the jet, bored out of his mind as his ex, Rogue, and Jubilee talk about the latest trends in sneakers. His eyes float to Tru, who's holding Mary-Jane in her lap. The sleeping little girl is clutching a ragdoll with all of her might, threatening to decapitate it.
He walks over and sits down on the seat next to her. "Hey," he says, and she lifts her light brown eyes to meet his.
"Oh, hi. How are you?" she asks politely, pulling Mary-Jane a little closer to her in an instinctive, maternal move.
"To be honest, bored out of my mind. So, you excited about the move?" he asks, gauging her reaction. She swallows, then smiles thinly.
"Nervous...really, really nervous." she tells him, glad to have somebody to talk to. "But I'm sure Mary-Jane will like it, and if she says that you guys are good, then it's true." she says, and Bobby wonders if it's for her benefit or his.
"I'm sure you'll like it, too." he says, and she shrugs. "You don't think you will?"
"I don't know," she says quietly, her demeanor meek and scared-looking, though she's trying to get past it. "I'm not used to much human interaction. Well, except for the creeps at work and my neighbor, Sally. I mean, even when I was little, I couldn't hang out with people." she blurts out angrily, stopping when she realizes she spilled the beans.
"What do you mean?" Bobby asks, but is interrupted by the whir of the jet door opening and Wolverine calling, "Honey, I'm home!"
"Um, we should get off now." Tru says, lifting Mary-Jane. Bobby nods, and a voice enters his mind. ~Take her to my office after you put the little one to bed.~ He assures the professor the he will, and Rogue and Jubilee come behind them.
"Hey Bobby, new girl." Jubilee says with a smile on her face. Tru mumbles a hello, her arms getting sore from holding the little girl for so long. "I'm Jubilee, and this is Rogue."
"Nice to meet you." she says quietly, and the other girls exchange glances.
"We should probably get her a bed." Bobby says, eyeing the sleeping child as Jubes and Rogue "awe!" over her, immediately taken with the child.
"That'd be great. I think my arms are gonna fall off pretty soon." Tru smiles, readjusting Mary-Jane to make her arms a little less cramped.
"I can carry her for you, if you'd like." Bobby offers, and Tru thinks on it for a moment.
"Um, ok. Thanks, that's real sweet of you." she says, giving him a smile. Jubilee rolls her eyes, scoffing dramatically.
"That's Bobby for you, Mr. Humanitarian." she snorts, Rogue giggling along with her friend. Tru grabs her bags, looking only the slightest bit confused as the girls continue laughing.
"I, uh, kind of initiated an impromptu water fight, of sorts." he says, barely managing a straight face as the girls roll their eyes, still holding a grudge. Tru laughs softly.
"I haven't had a good water fight in ages." she says, then pauses. "Well, unless you count when Mary-Jane doesn't want to take a bath."
They turn to the nursery, now dark and quiet. Bobby places Mary-Jane in a crib, instructed politely to do so by Tru. He backs up, allowing her to pass by him. She tucks Mary-Jane in like an Eskimo Baby (where all the edges of the blankets are underneath you, so you stay warmer.). She kisses the little girl on the forehead, then joins the others in the hallway.
"So, what now?" Tru asks, glancing to the nursery, a little nervous to leave Mary-Jane alone. "On to the Professor?" she asks hesitantly.
"We're gonna go to bed- Physics test tomorrow." Jubilee groans, and Rogue nods. "But I'm sure Bobby wouldn't mind showing you around." she says, and the girls turn and walk away, their shoes squeaking softly on the wooden floor.
"It's fine. I don't to make you come." Tru says as way of apology for Jubilee's actions. "Which way is it?"
Bobby shakes his head. "Nuh uh. You aren't getting away that easily." he tells her, and for a moment she reminds him of a deer in headlights. ~Wow, she really must have been on the run.~ "I want to know more about our new student, before you're whisked away by one of the groups of girls." he tells her, and she laughs.
"Yeah, um, you're kinda wrong there." Tru tells him, her honey-colored eyes shining brightly. "See, I never really got along with girls much." She sighs, wishing she could have had a more normal childhood.
"Why not?" Bobby asks, confused by the fact that someone couldn't like as sweet a girl as Tru.
"Well, when I was really little, I loved hanging out with my friends. Then my dad died when I was 6 and a half, and I just became a total introvert, using my books and dancing to hide from the world. The other girls wanted to go to the mall and talk about boys, but I wanted to go out and change the world." she tells him, and he nods. "And then mother and stepfather had Mary-Jane, and I had to take care of her because they were always gone to functions and dinner parties." she says as they near the Professor's office, rolling her eyes.
"They make you take care of her?" he asks incredulously. Tru shrugs it off.
"I just think of it as practice for now, when I need to take care of her." Tru says, pointing to the door. "Is this is?"
"Oh, yeah." Bobby nods, feeling stupid for forgetting. "If you want, I'll wait out here and then show you around." he adds, wanting to talk to her some more.
"Ok, but if you need to get some sleep, I understand." she tells him, trying not to get her hopes up with a new friend. ~They always end up leaving.~
"I'm practically nocturnal." he tells her, and she laughs, closing the door with a smile. She turns around, grinning, and sits in a chair offered by the Professor.
"I see you've made a new friend." he says and Tru thinks on that for a moment.
"I hope so. It's been kind of lonely lately, with just me and Mary-Jane." she says, then holds her hands up in front of her, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the girl to death and all, but sometimes I need to just get away from it all."she expains, tugging her sleeves down to cover the scars, both faded and raw red.
"I just want to know a little background information, if that's all right with you, Tru. I like to know my students." he says, and she keeps playing with the hem of her shirt.
"Um, ok...wouldn't it just be easier to go inside my head?" she asks, confused.
"Yes, but I'd rather you tell me." he says, watching her fidget a bit.
"Um...ok, my name is Tru Lynne Montgomery, and I'm 16. I was born in Sacramento, and lived there until my powers manifested. My real dad died when I was six and a half, and my mother remarried when I was 7. To a not-nice man." she says quietly, then continues. "She had Mary-Jane three years ago next Friday, and it was always my job to take care of her. When I discovered my mutation, which is the power over electricity, I told my mother, who let all of our neighborhood know. The formed a lynch mob. Mother feared, and correctly so, that Mary-Jane was a mutant, too." Tru says, staring at the floor as memories fly through her mind. The professor pries a bit into her mind, shocked at the pain he sees. "She would have let them get her." She looks up into the Professor's eyes, filled with tears, as her voice quavers. "She was just a baby! I barely had enough time to get Mary-Jane, a few things, and to leave the house before the mob came."
She's quiet for a moment, averting her eyes, trying to gain composure as pictures of her best friends with bats and guns fly by. "So, I moved across the country, as far away from them as I could get. And I've been taking care of Mary-Jane ever since." she ends, feeling a bit overwhelmed with all of the emotions of her past brought up.
"I see. You've had it rough." he tells her, still amazed at what he saw in her mind. "Now, can you tell me how much control you have over your powers, and about Mary-Jane's, too?" he asks her, and she nods.
"Well, I can control my powers fairly well. I've only made a circuit break once, but then it wasn't my fault- faulty wiring." she says, blushing with embarrassment. Professor X chuckles. Tru continues, "Mary-Jane is extraordinary, especially for being so young. She's an empath, but her link with me is very strong. When I have nightmares, she can feel them, too. Normally, she has to concentrate pretty hard, but with me it's different. Like she doesn't even need to concentrate to use her powers on me. Needless to say, I can't sleep all that much-I don't want her to see my nightmares." she explains, and Professor nods, intrigued. ~A link between siblings...Dr. Johansson will find this very interesting.~
"yes, well, feel free to stay up in the library or the living room, or just to wander around." he tells her, understanding the need to protect her little sister from the nightmares that haunt her. "Many of our students have troubles sleeping."
"Thank you, Professor. For everything." Tru says.
"Anything for my students. Now, come in here at nine o'clock tomorrow and we'll set up your classes." he tells her with a smile.
"Thanks again!" she calls as she hops out of the cahir and walks out of the room happily. As she reaches for the door, her sleeve slides up, revealing a trail of scars on her arm.
~Oh, dear.~ the Professor thinks as he sits alone in his office, wondering what else this new student hides from the world.
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A/N: hey, guys! I know, boring chapter, but I needed to get some background info on Tru in. Don't worry, next chapter is exciting!!!! I'll update probably tomorrow!!!! woo hoo!!!
Review, please!! I'll luv ya forever!!! hugs and kisses to my reviewers!!!!
DISCLAIMER: we all know that x-men doesn't belong to me...ya don't have to rub it in. *pouts*
molly jeane :D
