Adara did not sleep well the previous night. She kept having nightmares, none of which, thankfully, she could remember. More than once she woke up, alone, in her room, sparks flying off of her and burning tiny holes in the flame-retardant blanket. When she woke in the morning, the sun was at a higher slant than she expected. What time was it? She looked over at the clock radio and saw it was dead, scorches marring its previously perfect surface. Had she shorted it out last night? What time was it? She got out of bed and went to her dresser to look at her wristwatch. 9:42am. She was 45 minutes late for Danger Room practice. Cyclops was going to kill her.
(Finally back from vacation!)
She debated even going in, since she knew she was in trouble. Her rumbling stomach justified a further delay, so she obeyed it and marched off for the kitchen to get a much-needed breakfast. She hoped she could eat in peace before Cyclops discovered her.
So much for her hopes. She got halfway through her meal when old one-eye came into the kitchen. He didn't seem to have expected to see her there, but he recovered quickly enough, his face settling into a look of restrained anger.
Adara slammed her spoon down without the conscious intention of doing so, her eyes widening and her lips tightened before she responded. When she did, half-eaten breadcrumbs came spraying out of her mouth as she raised her voice.
"I'm sorry! I shorted out my alarm clock last night in my sleep so I woke up LATE!"
Her heart was hammering from anxiety and anger. It wasn't the first time this guy had raised her blood pressure.
"The least you could have done was called down to the room to tell us, then, instead of stopping by for a leisurely meal," he answered coolly.
Adara's nostrils flared and she stood up, her pupils shrunken to maddened pinpoints. "I CAN'T PRACTICE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH!" she yelled.
At the sound of her voice, a couple of students looked in through the window into the kitchen. Another one peeked around the corner, but upon seeing Cyclops, hastily retreated. Cyclops, dressed in armored uniform from head to toe, pointed angrily at Adara.
"Look! I've really had it with your temper!" he snapped. "You want to screech like some harpy, you do it somewhere else!"
"FINE!" Adara shoved her chair into the table...hard. "FINE! I'll just practice on my OWN from now on, since you're too big of a baby to handle emotion!" She stalked out of the room, blindly heading outside...anywhere as long as it was away from Roger Ramjet.
Scott just stared after her, apparently flabbergasted. The kids, stared, too, though with more of the "I can't believe she did that to him" shock than "I can't believe she did that to ME." She ran into Logan on the way out. He reached a hand out to gently stop her, touching her on the shoulder, but not grabbing.
"Hey, babe, you okay?" he asked.
Adara softened at the unexpected gesture of concern, particularly since it was coming from Logan. She didn't turn around, but replied in a quiet voice. "I'm fine. I just need some fresh air." She glanced quickly at him so he wouldn't see the tears that had replaced the anger, and walked off by herself into the garden. Cyclops made her so mad she couldn't see straight. Why was he so hard on her? Was he still pissed about her blasting him in self defense the first day? Why couldn't he accept her the way she was? Nobody else seemed to have a problem with it. Besides, she'd never been late before. Good thing Laser Eye wasn't her boss...he'd have fired her the second she set foot in the door.
She needed to work off some of her aggression, so she started jogging around the perimeter of the grounds. The cool morning air soothed her, and her ponytail holder fell out after only a few steps as it had been shoved in loosely. Her long hair fanned and bounced all around her shoulders. Someone had once told her she should be an athlete because she had such good rhythm and endurance. Her feet fell lightly against the pavement until she felt the endorphin rush. Her mood lifted temporarily, Adara found a bench and plopped down, thinking about what she should do. She was distracted as her eyes fell upon the gardens she had tended with Kurt earlier. Now her head swam with chaotic emotions. She was reminded of his endearing and lightheartedly seductive flirting, and her heart flipped in her chest. The more they interacted, the more her head filled with images of him. She didn't want these feelings. They were too much. Adara rose off the bench and turned her back on the garden, and the memory. She walked back to the Institute to make good on her promise to practice working out alone.
She went around the back way, doing her best to avoid any of the inhabitants. The students were in classes (boy, did she feel sorry for any of old Laser Eye's kids), the teachers in said classes. Except for Logan, maybe. She wasn't sure just what he taught, if he taught anything, but at least if she ran into him he wouldn't give her any trouble. Around the corner, just before she got to the door, she heard voices. She seized up. She knew those voices. Kurt and Ororo.
"Why does he act like this so much?" Kurt was asking. "Half of the time, it seems something has angered him before he sees us for practice, and then he takes it out on us."
"What is it every time?" Ororo grunted in reply. (Grunted? Just what were they doing?) "He misses Jean, but he doesn't feel like he can show it, so he just blows up instead. I think this morning's excuse was Adara. Honestly, I don't know why he didn't just go to see what was wrong instead of stewing. It's not as if she's ever been late before."
"Your back is in knots, liebling. I don't think you fell right that last time. I'm not hurting you, am I?"
"No."
"Do you think she is well? She did not seem ill last night."
"Who, Adara?"
"Yes."
"Logan said he saw her a little earlier, but she didn't look very good. It sounded more like stress than illness. Lower, Kurt. Right under the shoulder.... There...."
Feeling guilty for listening, Adara was nonetheless somewhat relieved. At least THESE two didn't consider her some kind of delinquent problem child. But at the same time, Adara felt a pang of guilt at Storm's mentioning of Scott's being angry before meeting them. Adara knew she'd contributed to Scott's blowups. Never mind him missing Jean...it was obvious the man did NOT like her. Not for the first time, Adara wanted to run away. It also sounded like Ororo was getting a sensuous massage from Kurty boy. He had called her Leibling...apparently some German endearment. Since when had they been on a "leibling" basis? Strike two for Adara. That did it. She was leaving. At least for awhile. And she was getting the strongest urge to go shopping. There was no better therapy when one's life fell under Murphy's Law.
Trying not to make any noise, she tiptoed around Ororo and Kurt's soft voices and went back to her room. She took a backpack and her purse and snuck out the back door, planning on walking into town. It was only a few miles. She wouldn't dream of stealing any of the cars, especially Cyclops' car...even more with the mood he was in. She'd seen Logan sneak One Eye's car out on a regular basis, and his motorcycle too. She'd also been there when the shit had hit the fan when Logan got caught. It wasn't a pretty sight.
Adara walked out the gate and onto the short access road that led to the main road into town. She knew she was vulnerable, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get out. Besides, the morning was beautiful and fragrant with the smell of trees and grass. It felt so free walking in the fresh air. Her mind immediately started wandering. For some reason, catching Kurt alone with Ororo bugged her more now than the fight with Scott. She couldn't stop dwelling on it. ::He's just a man:: she reminded herself. ::Don't let him have so much power over you:: The self-reprimand was useless, however, as her obsession returned full force. Maybe she should just leave for good. She didn't stand a chance in hell with Kurt anyway, no pun intended. Ororo had obviously given him wings.
Her feet plodded on. The road seemed endless.
(Finally back from vacation!)
She debated even going in, since she knew she was in trouble. Her rumbling stomach justified a further delay, so she obeyed it and marched off for the kitchen to get a much-needed breakfast. She hoped she could eat in peace before Cyclops discovered her.
So much for her hopes. She got halfway through her meal when old one-eye came into the kitchen. He didn't seem to have expected to see her there, but he recovered quickly enough, his face settling into a look of restrained anger.
Adara slammed her spoon down without the conscious intention of doing so, her eyes widening and her lips tightened before she responded. When she did, half-eaten breadcrumbs came spraying out of her mouth as she raised her voice.
"I'm sorry! I shorted out my alarm clock last night in my sleep so I woke up LATE!"
Her heart was hammering from anxiety and anger. It wasn't the first time this guy had raised her blood pressure.
"The least you could have done was called down to the room to tell us, then, instead of stopping by for a leisurely meal," he answered coolly.
Adara's nostrils flared and she stood up, her pupils shrunken to maddened pinpoints. "I CAN'T PRACTICE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH!" she yelled.
At the sound of her voice, a couple of students looked in through the window into the kitchen. Another one peeked around the corner, but upon seeing Cyclops, hastily retreated. Cyclops, dressed in armored uniform from head to toe, pointed angrily at Adara.
"Look! I've really had it with your temper!" he snapped. "You want to screech like some harpy, you do it somewhere else!"
"FINE!" Adara shoved her chair into the table...hard. "FINE! I'll just practice on my OWN from now on, since you're too big of a baby to handle emotion!" She stalked out of the room, blindly heading outside...anywhere as long as it was away from Roger Ramjet.
Scott just stared after her, apparently flabbergasted. The kids, stared, too, though with more of the "I can't believe she did that to him" shock than "I can't believe she did that to ME." She ran into Logan on the way out. He reached a hand out to gently stop her, touching her on the shoulder, but not grabbing.
"Hey, babe, you okay?" he asked.
Adara softened at the unexpected gesture of concern, particularly since it was coming from Logan. She didn't turn around, but replied in a quiet voice. "I'm fine. I just need some fresh air." She glanced quickly at him so he wouldn't see the tears that had replaced the anger, and walked off by herself into the garden. Cyclops made her so mad she couldn't see straight. Why was he so hard on her? Was he still pissed about her blasting him in self defense the first day? Why couldn't he accept her the way she was? Nobody else seemed to have a problem with it. Besides, she'd never been late before. Good thing Laser Eye wasn't her boss...he'd have fired her the second she set foot in the door.
She needed to work off some of her aggression, so she started jogging around the perimeter of the grounds. The cool morning air soothed her, and her ponytail holder fell out after only a few steps as it had been shoved in loosely. Her long hair fanned and bounced all around her shoulders. Someone had once told her she should be an athlete because she had such good rhythm and endurance. Her feet fell lightly against the pavement until she felt the endorphin rush. Her mood lifted temporarily, Adara found a bench and plopped down, thinking about what she should do. She was distracted as her eyes fell upon the gardens she had tended with Kurt earlier. Now her head swam with chaotic emotions. She was reminded of his endearing and lightheartedly seductive flirting, and her heart flipped in her chest. The more they interacted, the more her head filled with images of him. She didn't want these feelings. They were too much. Adara rose off the bench and turned her back on the garden, and the memory. She walked back to the Institute to make good on her promise to practice working out alone.
She went around the back way, doing her best to avoid any of the inhabitants. The students were in classes (boy, did she feel sorry for any of old Laser Eye's kids), the teachers in said classes. Except for Logan, maybe. She wasn't sure just what he taught, if he taught anything, but at least if she ran into him he wouldn't give her any trouble. Around the corner, just before she got to the door, she heard voices. She seized up. She knew those voices. Kurt and Ororo.
"Why does he act like this so much?" Kurt was asking. "Half of the time, it seems something has angered him before he sees us for practice, and then he takes it out on us."
"What is it every time?" Ororo grunted in reply. (Grunted? Just what were they doing?) "He misses Jean, but he doesn't feel like he can show it, so he just blows up instead. I think this morning's excuse was Adara. Honestly, I don't know why he didn't just go to see what was wrong instead of stewing. It's not as if she's ever been late before."
"Your back is in knots, liebling. I don't think you fell right that last time. I'm not hurting you, am I?"
"No."
"Do you think she is well? She did not seem ill last night."
"Who, Adara?"
"Yes."
"Logan said he saw her a little earlier, but she didn't look very good. It sounded more like stress than illness. Lower, Kurt. Right under the shoulder.... There...."
Feeling guilty for listening, Adara was nonetheless somewhat relieved. At least THESE two didn't consider her some kind of delinquent problem child. But at the same time, Adara felt a pang of guilt at Storm's mentioning of Scott's being angry before meeting them. Adara knew she'd contributed to Scott's blowups. Never mind him missing Jean...it was obvious the man did NOT like her. Not for the first time, Adara wanted to run away. It also sounded like Ororo was getting a sensuous massage from Kurty boy. He had called her Leibling...apparently some German endearment. Since when had they been on a "leibling" basis? Strike two for Adara. That did it. She was leaving. At least for awhile. And she was getting the strongest urge to go shopping. There was no better therapy when one's life fell under Murphy's Law.
Trying not to make any noise, she tiptoed around Ororo and Kurt's soft voices and went back to her room. She took a backpack and her purse and snuck out the back door, planning on walking into town. It was only a few miles. She wouldn't dream of stealing any of the cars, especially Cyclops' car...even more with the mood he was in. She'd seen Logan sneak One Eye's car out on a regular basis, and his motorcycle too. She'd also been there when the shit had hit the fan when Logan got caught. It wasn't a pretty sight.
Adara walked out the gate and onto the short access road that led to the main road into town. She knew she was vulnerable, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get out. Besides, the morning was beautiful and fragrant with the smell of trees and grass. It felt so free walking in the fresh air. Her mind immediately started wandering. For some reason, catching Kurt alone with Ororo bugged her more now than the fight with Scott. She couldn't stop dwelling on it. ::He's just a man:: she reminded herself. ::Don't let him have so much power over you:: The self-reprimand was useless, however, as her obsession returned full force. Maybe she should just leave for good. She didn't stand a chance in hell with Kurt anyway, no pun intended. Ororo had obviously given him wings.
Her feet plodded on. The road seemed endless.