Ooh! Updation! Aren't you proud of me?? Two chappies in one day. Geez, I'm gonna spoil you guys!
Anna, Bobby, and Rogue boarded their flight with no problems at all and a few hours later they arrived in London. After they got their bags from the terminal Bobby rented them a car and they drove until they spotted a hotel.
"What do you think about this place?" Bobby asked Rouge, who was sitting next to him in the front seat.
Rogue eyed up the tall, modern looking building and nodded. "It looks as good as any."
Anna made no comment, being too busy staring out of the window in a state of rapture to care what her companions were talking about.
Bobby parked the car and tugged Anna and his bags into the building. Anna seemed to think that if she let the London landscape out of her sight for one moment it would run away.
"You can visit it as soon as we're checked in," Bobby promised.
Anna grinned up at him. "I'm holding you to that."
Once they registered for three days worth of lodgings, Anna rushed upstairs, deposited her bags in the room she and Rogue were going to share and sprang out into the hall again.
"I'm going to find a bookstore," she sang to her friends, who were busy unpacking their clothes like sensible travelers.
"Are you going to take the car?" Bobby asked.
Anna shook her head. "I don't think so. They drive on the wrong side of the road in this country and I'd probably run over someone. I'll walk."
"Good plan," Bobby agreed. "Have fun and take this." He tossed her his cell phone. "Call Rogue's phone if you need us, I'll tell her to keep it on."
"Gottcha," Anna said and saluted playfully. "You two behave while your chaperone is gone." With that admonition she skipped off down to the lobby.
Once she was there she stopped by the desk to question an older man about direction. "Excuse me," she began politely.
"Yes miss?" the man asked.
"I was wondering where I could find a good bookshop."
The man's lips curved up ever so slightly. "There is a store right across the street."
Anna waved her hand impatiently. "No, I saw that when we came in. All it has are comic books. I mean a good bookstore!"
"What type of books are you looking for? Perhaps I can help you, I'm an avid read myself." The man looked slightly interested now.
"I want a store that sells classics," Anna said without hesitation.
The man's sliver moustache quivered a bit. "Classics? You mean something like The Count of Monte Cristo by Mark Twain or A Tale of Two Cities by Edgar Allen Poe?"
Anna giggled a bit. "Really, sir, I'm not that illiterate. I've read both Twain and Poe and they never wrote anything like that."
The older man broke into a hearty chuckle and scribbled an address on a piece of paper that she handed to Anna. "I think you'd enjoy this place, miss." His eyes twinkled at her. "I have to be careful who I send there, the owner is a friend of mine."
Anna thanked him and looked at the paper. It said 796 Peters Street. After getting directions to Peters Street, she left, excited over the fact that she had talked to a real Englishman.
The store the man had directed her to was a cozy little shop, softly lit and smelling of old dust and fresh coffee. As Anna walked in, the sound the street noises she let in with her blared into the quiet atmosphere which had only been broken by the sound of pages turning and hushed conversation. In the front of the shop, where big glass windows were, a sofa and two armchairs made out of dark green leather sat. In the back of the shop there were the books. Shelves upon shelves of books. Anna wandered through them, running her fingers along their spines and smiling every time her eye caught a familiar title.
"What should I pick?" she mused under her breath. "Something old or something new?" She had just decided on something new when her eye was caught by the words Peter Pan. Quick as thought she grabbed the book off the shelf and devoured it with her eyes. She had already read the book, but had never bought a copy of it for herself. This edition was illustrated with beautiful water color paintings so real they seemed to jump out of the page. "You're coming home with me," Anna informed the book and headed to the counter to pay for it. Once that duty was done, she sat down on the sofa and began to read. It was like meeting an old friend again as she read the first sentence. "All children, except one, grow up." And with that she was whisked away to a world full of pirates, mermaids, and a boy who didn't grow up.
Her excursion in Neverland continued unbroken until she felt a tap on her shoulder and heard a pleasantly British voice ask, "Would you mind if I sat here?"
"No," Anna said absently, without looking up.
"Thank you," the voice said and Anna felt the sofa sink a little as the speaker sat down.
Still staring at the page, Anna considered ignoring this stranger completely; but then decided it wouldn't be polite. A bit grudgingly, she put her book in her lap and turned to face the newcomer.
He was a handsome young man with short dark hair and dark eyes. His face was friendly and looked slightly dreamy, but Anna decided she could be imagining it; Peter Pan always made her sentimental. He sat with his legs tucked under him, but Anna could tell he was taller then herself by a good many inches.
"Do you have enough room?" she asked, to show that she was paying attention to him now. "I'm kind of sprawled all over the place." It was true; she had her back on the armrest and her legs swung over the back of the sofa.
"I'm fine," he assured her, but Anna thought he was looking at her funny, so she moved positions anyway and sat up like a normal human being. She went back to her book, but she still felt the stranger's eyes on her as she read. She glanced up and saw that he was staring at her the way you'd stare at great aunt who you're supposed to know, but don't. Anna shifted positions once again and tried to ignore him, but couldn't. Professor Xavier's warning about enemies popped into her mind and she edged further away from the young man.
"What are you reading?" he asked, with an accent so pure that Anna would have loved him on the spot if she wasn't a bit afraid of him.
"Peter Pan," she said hastily.
"I like that book," he said, still staring at her.
"Me too," Anna agreed lamely, for lack of something else to say.
The boy shifted positions on the couch and cleared his throat. "This is going to sound weird, and I feel stupid asking you...but is your name Anna Wallace?"
Anna's eyes opened wide. She was seriously alarmed now. "No, I'm sorry," she lied.
"Oh," the boy said, looking disappointed.
Anna was curious to know why this person she had never seen knew her name. "I've been told I look a lot like her," she said, surprised at her own daring. "She lives in my hometown."
"Really?" The young man's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful! I knew her once, a long time ago, and then I came back to England and we lost track of each other. How is she doing?"
"She's doing fine," Anna said guardedly.
"Is she dating a boy named Robert Drake?" the youth asked eagerly.
Anna's mouth opened, she couldn't help it. "Bobby?" she repeated in amazement.
"Yes, I remember those two were always close. I had them picked out for each other." The young man's eyes were twinkling with mischief.
Anna's mind was racing to think of British boys she had known before Bobby started dating Rogue, so she could only stammer out, "No—no they're just good friends."
"Pity," the boy remarked. "They were cute together." He looked at Anna searchingly again. "You really do look a lot like her. But like I said, that was a long time ago."
"How long?" Anna asked, her voice surprisingly steady.
The young man shrugged. "We were both about fourteen."
Fourteen! Anna didn't need to think hard to remember what had happened to her at that age. A money hungry man who had made mutant children work for him had kidnapped her, Kate, John, and Bobby. She had met many kids during the time she was there, but the only one who had been British had been...
"Dominic?" she asked in disbelief.
The boy looked at her, puzzled. "Yes, that's me."
In her excitement at finding her old friend she forgot that she had told him she wasn't Anna Wallace. "I can't believe it's you! I haven't heard from you in years!"
Now it was Dominic's turn to be uneasy. "Did—did Anna tell you about me?"
Anna laughed quietly. "I am Anna."
Dominic frowned. "But you just said..."
"Forget what I said," Anna interrupted. "I didn't feel like giving my name out to a stranger, that's all."
A large smile broke out on Dominic's face. "In that case, I'm more than overjoyed to see you!" He reached over and wrapped her in a friendly hug, to the surprise of the elderly lady standing behind the counter of her shop.
Anna hugged him back gladly, but it took less than a second for her to realize that this wasn't the boy she had known five years ago. Maybe her memory was going bad, but she didn't recall that her whole body had tingled when he touched her, as it did now.
Maybe he realized she was uncomfortable or maybe he felt the change too, because Dominic released her almost immediately. When they had each retired to their own corners, they asked each other the usual polite questions about jobs, schooling, and family, and then came the awkward pause that inevitably accompanies the meeting of old friends.
"So," Dominic said after a while. "Are you here for sightseeing?"
Something in Anna tugged at her to tell him everything about her plans, but reason won the day. "Yes," she told him. "Bobby's with me."
"Ah," Dominic said, looking wise and teasing at the same time.
"His girlfriend is with us," Anna added, reading his thoughts.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"I see." Dominic looked at her with his old way of mingled flirtyness and genuine affection. "Do you still love him?"
Anna shot up, indigent. "I never did love him, Dominic, and don't you forget it!"
Dominic's eyes laughed at her as he said gravely, "Forgive me, Milady. I shall try to remember in the future."
Anna shook her head with a smile. "You haven't changed much, Dom."
"You have," he said readily. "You don't look like the frightened little bird that you used to. You've grown more confident, I think. And more beautiful."
Anna blushed, she tried not to, but she couldn't stop it. She knew that Dominic was a flirt and that he probably said things like that to every girl he met, but that knowledge didn't cool her face.
Dominic settled back into the couch in a satisfied way. "Since we're on the subject, let's talk about each other."
"We were on that subject?" Anna asked, but Dominic took no notice of her.
"I'll talk about you first," he said wickedly. "I've already pointed out you're more beautiful than you used to be, let that be noted and duly appreciated." He paused and Anna assumed it was so that she could "duly appreciate" his comment. "Let me now add to that and say that you look stronger and more able to take care of yourself than you used to."
"I've been taking self defense at school," Anna offered.
Dominic's eyebrows rose. "What kind of a school do you go to?"
Anna's voice lowered as she said, "One for people like us."
Dominic nodded his understanding and continued. "While I have a great many good things to notice about my long lost friend, I also have some things to worry about." He gazed at her appraisingly for a moment and then shook his head. "Actually, on further consideration I just have one thing that bothers me. My friend looks preoccupied and nervous. When I began to talk to her she looked like she was ready to bolt for the door." His eyes locked with hers. "Is she in any trouble?"
Anna managed a smile. "Nothing that you could help me with."
"Try me," the British youth demanded.
She shook her head. "I don't need it, thanks."
"Does the source of your trouble have anything to do with why you're visiting London?"
"Do you think that?" Anna asked evasively.
"I certainly do," Dominic replied confidently.
"You've talked about me long enough, let me talk about you," Anna said, deciding that she had had enough of the present topic.
"Yes. Do, please," Dominic said amiably. "Do you want my side profile or can I stay as I am?"
"Stay as you are, you flirt," Anna commanded.
"I'm not a flirt, I just enjoy myself," Dominic argued. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "You may begin, Milady."
Anna laughed softly. "Obviously you're still a...forgive me, you still "enjoy yourself" as much as you used to. It looks like you've become a bit of a romantic, judging by the book of Tennyson you brought with you."
"The girl's a regular Sherlock Holmes," Dominic murmured and lazily opened one eye. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."
"Have you read "The Lady of Shallot" yet?" Anna questioned, for a minute forgetting her appraisal.
"She has heard a whisper say,
A curse upon her if she stay
To look down to Camelot," Dominic recited, both eyes closed again.
"I can see you're still charismatic, too," Anna remarked, after the tingle of words left her.
"It's because I'm so handsome," Dominic said. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Aren't you going to say anything about that?"
"I was getting there," Anna reprimanded. "You just want to hear yourself praised."
"The lady speaks truth," Dominic admitted cheerfully and closed his eyes again.
"I'll give you want you want and tell you that you are handsome indeed," Anna said, a trifle embarrassed. She only talked to Bobby like this.
"Much obliged."
After Anna was quiet for a while, he opened his eyes again. "Are you done, Milady?"
She nodded.
"That's hardly fair, I gave you a much longer turn then you gave me," Dominic protested.
"I'm sorry, maybe I'll finish some other time, but right now I—I have to go," Anna said, getting up off the couch. She had planned to spend the whole day at this bookstore, but the presence of the boy next to her had made her so fluttered that she didn't feel like reading now.
"Wait a minute!" Dominic said, jumping up and grabbing her hand. "You can't just leave and not tell me where you're staying! You can't play Cinderella this time."
"I'm only going to be here three days," Anna said, withdrawing her hand before she started to tingle again.
"All the more reason for us to get together now," Dominic argued.
"I guess so," Anna said feebly.
Dominic frowned and looked at her closely. "Heavens, I've made the lady angry with me!" he ejaculated. Before Anna could open her mouth to deny it, he dropped on one knee and looked pleadingly up at her. "Hide not your face from me," he begged, causing the few people in the shop to look at the pair with undisguised wonder.
"Get up, Dom," Anna said, feeling embarrassed for the second time in thirty minutes.
"Not until you promise to let me walk you home, Milady," the young man insisted.
Anna looked at the people staring at them and agreed wildly. "Yes, yes, just get up!"
Dominic got up with all the glory of a victorious knight and offered her his arm. "Shall we?" he asked pleasantly, as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary.
Anna nodded and tentatively put her hand on the proffered arm. Dominic picked up her book and his with the other hand and with a "Good afternoon, Mary," to the old woman behind the counter, escorted his prize out onto the sidewalk.
The pair walked in silence down the sunny streets, and even if Anna was a bit grumpy and Dominic a trifle conceited, they still looked like a well matched couple.
"Where are you staying?" Dominic asked, putting aside the dramatics as he saw Anna's tight lips.
"In the Jenson hotel," she replied, a bit stiffly.
"Spiffin'," Dominic said happily. "I know that place."
They walked on in silence until Dominic shook her arm gently. "Are you all right?"
"I'm a little irritated with you," Anna admitted.
"Why?" Dominic looked honestly puzzled.
"Because you spoiled my book reading day and embarrassed me by your theatrics."
Her escort looked troubled. "I'm sorry, Milady, I didn't know. I'm afraid I don't have your gift of sensing people's feelings. I humbly apologize. I would abase myself, but I think that would make it worse, wouldn't it?"
Anna felt remorse radiating off him like a steam cloud, so she forgave him. "It's okay. I didn't really mind that much, it's just..."
"What?" Dominic pressed as she stopped speaking.
"You interrupted me during a really interesting part in Peter Pan."
Dominic laughed. "I'm sorry. Again."
"And you're forgiven. Again."
"What part were you at?" Dominic asked curiously.
"Just when Peter says my favorite line," Anna said.
Dominic groaned. "I can't do anything right today." He stopped looking tragic long enough to ask, "What was the line?"
Anna had been hoping he would ask her. Anytime she got to talk to someone about her books she took the opportunity. "To die would be an awfully big adventure."
Dominic thought about it for a second and said slowly, "I think it would depend what you were dying for." He glanced at Anna. "And who you were dying with."
Anna glanced back. "Are you flirting with me?" she asked.
Dominic gave her an innocent smile. "Why would you get that impression?"
Anna just shook her head and they continued their walk in silence. At the door of the Jenson Hotel, Dominic relinquished Anna's arm and gave her back her book. As Anna said goodbye and was preparing to walk in, Dominic called her back.
"Wait! I have to give you something," he said. He was fishing around in his pockets furiously, so Anna waited. At last he produced a pen and a gum wrapper and scribbled an address on it.
"I know you said you don't need any help," Dominic said quietly. "But just in case, come to this address. I'm there every evening."
"Is this where you live?" Anna asked, curious.
"No. It's where I and a couple...friends get together, people like us." He grinned at her. "You don't think I've been idle all these years, do you?"
"Thanks," she said, pocketing the slip of paper.
"Perhaps I'll see you again, then," Dominic said. "But we warned, if you don't contact me before you leave, I'll die of heartbreak and come back to haunt you."
Anna smiled at him. "I wouldn't want that."
"Neither would I, actually," Dominic admitted. He bowed slightly to her and, with a wave, walked back down the street.
The same morning Anna, Rouge, and Bobby had landed in England, Kate jolted awake as her alarm clock sounded. Groaning, she stuffed her head under a pillow, but when she found her alarm couldn't be ignored, she drowsily turned it off. The display said 7:00 and Kate groaned again. Why on earth was she up so early? She sat up and dangled her feet off the edge of her bed, blinking stupidly at the wall. Slowly her brain started working again and she remembered. Today she and John were supposed to track down that man named Jean Baptiest. Then, Kate frowned as the events of last night flooded back to her.
"I don't want to talk to him," she muttered rebelliously as she pulled off her pajamas and shrugged into a blue tee shirt and jean shorts. "I guess I forgive him, but I don't want to talk to him."
She swept her hair back in a ponytail, shook herself to be sure she was really awake, then walked down to the lobby for their complimentary continental breakfast. After getting herself a bowl of Coco Puffs and a cup of steaming hot chocolate, she scanned the area to see if John was there. She spotted him seated at a small table tucked away in the corner of the lobby, slowly munching on a bagel. Kate headed over to him and sat down, feeling a little awkward. John looked up from his bagel as she sat down and grunted at her. Kate nodded in reply and set about making her Coco Puffs disappear, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
The silence between them was deafening. Normally Kate would have been talking about something random or John busy describing their agenda for that day, but this morning the table was quiet. Kate wondered if John felt badly about what he had said the night before. He looked uncomfortable enough.
John dunked his bagel into his cup of coffee and chewed it quickly, much quicker then was his normal wont. Once or twice Kate caught him opening his mouth to say something, but then closing it again without a sound. Kate knew her friend well enough to read the signs. John was sorry.
Then and there Kate decided to forgive him. He's only a boy, anyway. You can't expect too much from him, she told herself. Looking up from the bowl of Coco Puffs, Kate cleared her throat.
"So, John," she began casually. "What's on the agenda for today?"
John stopped being absorbed in his coffee soaked bagel and answered, just as casually, "I think we'll head deeper into the city and make inquiries about Monsieur Bapteist."
Kate nodded and sipped her hot chocolate, knowing her attempt at peace had been understood and accepted. "Are we getting disguised this time?" she asked.
"Do you want to?"
Kate shrugged. "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea, seeing as how we weren't in disguise last time."
John shrugged one shoulder. "Well, I'm not doing anything elaborate. You can do whatever you want."
Kate giggled. "Aw, come on! What about the blue haired, green eyed Aussie that I hung out with the other day?"
John stuffed the rest of his bagel down his throat, followed by a sip of coffee. When his mouth was empty, he said, "The same place his blonde haired, cheerleader-like companion went, I guess."
Kate made a face. "I was glad to be rid of her."
"Me too," John agreed and gathered up his breakfast things to throw them away. "Meet me here in a few minutes."
"All right, just let me finish first."
John left and Kate wolfed down the rest of her breakfast. As soon as she was done, she ran upstairs and happily slammed the door behind her. From across the hall she heard John shout, "When will you learn to close a door, not attack it?"
"The day you learn to keep your room neat!" Kate yelled back and placed herself in front of the bathroom mirror. It was good to be friendly with John again.
After about fifteen minutes of fighting with her hair and other things, Kate surveyed herself in the mirror with satisfaction. The girl staring back at her had blue eyes (thanks to some fake contact lenses John had given her) and straight hair that hung past her shoulders. For something different, Kate added a pair of hoop earrings large enough to fit a fist through. She giggled when she put them on, but thought they made her look unlike herself.
She walked down to the lobby, trying to avoid eye contact with the people in neighboring rooms, and waited for John. He was already there, lounging against the wall by the door. Kate had to choke back a laugh when she saw him; he looked so different. The boy motioning her to follow him had bright green eyes and dark hair gelled up into tiny spikes. Kate jogged over to him, laughing.
"You look like Bobby with dark hair," she told him.
John made a face. "It's that bad, huh?"
"Not quite," Kate said nicely. "I kind of like it."
"Don't get used to it," John growled as he led the way outside. "This is a one time thing."
John led the way to his motorcycle, which was parked down the street a little ways and hopped on. Kate followed, but rejected the helmet John thrust at her.
"Oh no, I'm not putting that thing on again," she said stubbornly. "Last time it wouldn't come off."
John rolled his eyes. "I'll help you get it off this time. Just put it on."
Kate eyed the black helmet warily. "You're sure it'll come off?"
Without a word John shoved the helmet at her and adjusted his mirrors. As he did so he caught sight of his reflection and sighed. "I look like a porcupine," he muttered and started the engine.
As Kate fastened her helmet she shouted into John's ear, "Why do I have to wear one of these and you don't?"
"I'm more responsible," John yelled back and shot off down the street.