Home Sweet Home
Part Two: Instinct Voices
Author: Kryptonite
Disclaimer: I do NOT own X-men, though with as often as I borrow the characters I should.
Spoilers: Slight
Summary: Scott is unhappy and is asked by Xavier to take one of the new students home. This is later the same day, a glance at one of Aubrey's abilities. Some bonding included.
A/N: Second chapter in one night. All of my usual readers know that this won't last. But hey, it's an update for something right? May not be the right one but I'm at my mom's for Christmas break and I don't have any of my other stories available like at my dad's. Sorry y'all. Enjoy.
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"Are you hungry?" Scott asked. It was getting darker and the two had been driving straight for almost six hours.
"A little." Aubrey was as quiet as ever, her voice seeming a mere echo. Scott nodded and started looking for an exit with some amount of tempting fast food. Another twenty miles and he was rewarded.
"Arby's sound good?" Aubrey nodded in answer to Scott's question, her forehead still pressed against the glass the wheels ate up the miles between them and the mansion. Scott put on his blinker to get off the nearly empty highway and turned right to get to the Arby's. It was a small place, an Arby's, McDonalds, Burger King, two gas stations and a tiny supermarket. Aubrey unbuckled her seatbelt once Scott pulled the key out of the ignition and instead of reaching for the door just sat there.
"Is something wrong?" Scott questioned with his hand on the handle of the door, the door hanging half open. Aubrey just shook her head, her eyes glued to the dashboard. "Aubrey." Scott reached over to wave his hand in front of the girls' eyes. Just as his hand reached about the level of her shoulder she jerked away, slamming her body into the door and window. "Aubrey, it's just me."
Her eyes were filled with fear and something else, a strange mixture that disappeared almost as soon as Scott identified it. Aubrey paused, licking her lips, before she turned and exited the truck leaving behind a confused Scott. Aubrey turned back to look at the truck once she'd reached the sidewalk. Her eyes asked the question that couldn't make it past her cherry lips, Are you coming?
Scott nodded, exiting from his own door, closing it behind him. He turned to walk towards Aubrey and found her next to him. She stretched out one hand to his, grabbing his own hand in hers. Dragging him after her she forced him into the fast food restaurant. Scott just grinned at her determination. She may have been silent but after so long in the car and six and a half months of observation, he could tell a little more of her emotions just by looking at her.
"Beef and cheddar please, coke." Aubrey answered the question before the cashier asked it, her voice barely a whisper.
"I'm sorry, what?" The cashier was young, a teenager. He had dark brown hair, almost black, dark gray eyes, two piercings in his eyebrows and one in his left ear. He was over-weight and his Arby's apron was stretched tight across his stomach.
"She wants a beef and cheddar sandwich and a coke. I'd like-"
"No you don't." Aubrey's hand was pressed against his stomach, the back of her hand resting there.
"What?" Scott was oblivious to the contact as he wondered about her words. It would hit him later that this was the third time she had willing touched another human being.
"You don't want onion rings." Aubrey was staring at the menu, trying to decide what he should get.
"How did you know what I was going to order?" Xavier should have mentioned she was a telepath, Scott thought angrily as Aubrey's eyes finally settled on something.
"Call it instinct. Hamburger and curly fries." Aubrey turned her amazingly ice green eyes towards Scott, not that he could see anything other than a slightly darker shade of red. Frankly she looked blind to him. Scott shrugged as he turned back to the cashier.
"A cheeseburger with just ketchup, curly fries and a coke." Scott ordered as Aubrey's hand dropped from his thin stomach. She turned to look towards another customer, eyes staring once more. Finally one hand came up to massage her temples as she turned her gaze to the linoleum floor. Scott grabbed the tray as the food was placed on it, opening a space for the other customer's behind them to move up.
The two ate most of their joint meal in silence, one hand constantly at Aubrey's temple and another constantly checking Scott's visor was in place. Finally Scott broke the silence.
"The grocery store is still open. We should probably pop in there for supplies. Snacks, blankets, pillows… aspirin." Aubrey paused her hand in mid-rub as her eyes shot up to Scott's.
"That would be nice." Aubrey commented, her hand dropping down to the table top. It rested there for a few moments before it was back up, her face resting against it. "Are you done?" Aubrey snaked a few curly fries before Scott could answer.
"I guess the answer to that would be a yes, seeing as how those were my last fries." Aubrey simply gave him an innocent smile as she swallowed the last of his food. Scott grinned back moving to take the tray to the trashcan. Aubrey followed as his silent shadow, moving behind him out to the truck. The seat belts buckled and the engine flared to life. All movement stopped as the phone rang. It was in the glove compartment and Scott turned the engine off to make sure he'd actually heard it.
Aubrey exchanged a glance with Scott before lunging for the glove compartment. The phone was in her hand as Scott told her quietly not to answer it. The phone was opened and placed to her ear. Aubrey didn't say a word as the other voice suddenly exploded from the phone. Scott could hear the other person, Jean, talking but couldn't make out what she was saying.
Finally Aubrey spoke, in a loud, clear and concise voice that was extremely different from her own. "Wrong number." The voice was guttural and deep, putting Scott in mind of a fat, drunk trucker. As soon as the thought past through his head the phone was hung up, turned off and placed in the glove compartment. Aubrey turned to face him after the lid was clicked shut.
"Are we going or not?" Aubrey smiled at him, her voice returned to normal but considerably louder than it had ever been at the mansion.
"Uh… yeah." The engine was started again and Scott moved to back out of the parking lot. It took all of ten minutes to go into the general store and get the supplies they needed. Once they were back on the highway the radio was turned on lightly and Aubrey started looking around the trucks' cab.
"So… where are we supposed to sleep?" Aubrey's voice was still loud and happy, something that made Scott happy just to hear, despite being the opposite of what he was used to.
"It's only August. Still warm enough at night that we can put some of the blankets down as bedding in the bed and sleep in the back. That is if you don't mind. I was planning on taking my bike and camping out anyway." Aubrey smiled and nodded, her head turning to lean against the window as Scott continued to drive down the dark roadway.
It was near midnight before Scott finally pulled over. Aubrey was still awake but both were struggling to stay that way. They pulled the truck over onto the shoulder and started preparing for sleeping in the back of the truck. Scott laid out the blankets while Aubrey grabbed the two pillows they'd bought and placed them near the cab.
"You okay?" Scott mumbled once they were lying down and under the blankets. Aubrey nodded, yawning loudly before adding 'Uh-huh' in her normal voice. Of course at this point Scott wasn't sure what her normal voice was. "Good." Scott mumbled again, turning towards Aubrey as he started to fall into sleep.
He rolled over on his back, looking through his glasses up at the night sky. Scott's eyes drifted closed but ripped wide open when he felt Aubrey's arm over his stomach. "Aubrey?" He questioned quietly. Looking down he could tell she was asleep. Relaxing after a few minutes Scott took a deep breath and tried again to go to sleep. One hand rested lightly on Aubrey's hair as he slipped into sleep.