Chapter 8 – Letters in the Snow
Thanksgiving came and went, Lhach left for Washington D.C. with a Jubilate high school band group. He called Kitty every night from his cell phone and spent Thanksgiving on his own at a restaurant in D.C. then went off to the Kennedy Center for one last performance. He flew back to New York a week before Christmas and the city was already decorated with flashing lights, giant Christmas trees and sales going on in every store. The snow was about as predictable as ever, hailing down at completely random moments. Sometimes for three days straight. The first snow day of the year took place under two feet of snow.
The Institute was also getting ready for Christmas and just as the whole town, it had turned into one big mad house of people cheering 'Merry Christmas' to one another and Christmas trees decorating almost every room in a total of two days. The holiday season was here at last.
Kurt had quit his usual antics of pulling Kitty under the mistletoe only as Lhach shot him a warning glance. Kitty couldn't help but laugh at the two, lightening the mood at exactly the right time.
Even Arch Angel dropped by a few times for the occasion. But as Christmas day crept closer and closer, many of the students left for their own families to drink eggnog and spend Christmas morning with. Rogue remained and Scott joined his brother in California for an unusual, warm x-mas. Beast and Xavier stayed behind, of course, as did Lhach.
Lhach would never say it to her face, but he didn't want Kitty to leave for her home. He knew she couldn't stay and it would be selfish of him to ask her too, but he couldn't help but wish she would stay. He had never spent Christmas with anyone he truly loved since his mother was still alive.
But this was different.
Lhach stood next to the fire. Watching the flames, absent mindedly, they fought widely with each other in sort of a rhythm. They licked the bark off the wood, crackling and popping in disarray. The room was dark, the fire being the only source of light, illuminating Lhach's face and the sparkling Christmas tree, just out of reach of the dark corners of the room.
The snow fell heavily, a black car sat impatiently in the dark driveway, the moonlight shining brightly off the side panels. Kitty galloped down the stairs, two duffel bags clutched tightly in her hands.
Lhach turned at the noise, set his glass of eggnog down, and went to help Kitty with her bags.
"Thanks," She breathed.
Lhach smiled and heaved a bag onto his back, "Jeez, didja bring your bed too?" He joked, holding the bag with both hands behind his head.
Kitty laughed quietly and Lhach looked to the ground, a smile lingering on his face. His eyes were distant, unconscious even.
Kitty kissed him lightly on the cheek, "I'm gunna miss you."
A faint crimson fell over his face, "I'll miss you too." He said, looking up at her.
"But I'll be back, okay?"
Lhach nodded and smiled at her, holding the door open. They made their way down the cold, snowy steps to the taxi.
Kitty got in and Lhach put her bags in the seat next to her, "Tell your parents I said 'hi.' He said, ducking under the roof of the taxi.
Kitty nodded, "Okay, I'll see you in a few weeks."
"Bye." Lhach shut the door and waved as the taxi sped off into the darkness. Lhach stood there in the snow watching the car until it completely disappeared. Still he stood by, as if waiting for something to happen, and then walked back inside.
Realizing he was cold only after he shut the door behind him, Lhach headed back to the fireplace. The Institute changed. The old feeling of Christmassy cheer was gone and a new air of solitude awoke with an unpleasant start. It was strange, foreign, like it shouldn't be there.
It was going to be a long couple of weeks.
Lhach took a swig of eggnog and poured another few drops of rum into the glass. He sauntered over to a big red armchair and collapsed into it, his eyes never leaving the fire. It spat and lashed out every few seconds, emitting the only sound in the whole building, or so it seemed. Lhach let out all of the air in his lungs and closed his eyes.
A voice reached out to him the dark, shaking him from his trance.
"Lhach?"
"Hmm…?" He sighed, opening his eyes gradually, "Rogue?"
She sat down in a chair next to his, "Hey."
"Sup?"
"Wow."
"What?"
Rogue gazed down in the fire, "You."
Lhach stared back at her blankly, "Oh."
She laughed, "Yeh miss her already… don't you?"
"Yeah."
Rogue watched the fire dancing in front of her patiently, "Ah heard you got the rum."
Lhach grinned and threw the bottle to her.
She laughed and poured some into her own eggnog. "Ah thought so…"
(a/n I've actually tried that, and it tastes really good! And it doesn't get you drunk if you only have a little bit! I love it does happy dance)
Rogue got up and headed back to the stair case, taking the bottle of rum with her "Hey, do you wanna go up to Sam Ash tomorrow or sumthin? Ah got a few gift cards from Kurt and Scott fer Christmas fer Sam Ash… an Ah still hafta buy you sum'in."
(a/n Sam Ash is a total kick-ass music store up in NYC! XP okay I'll shut up now…)
"Sure." Lhach said, taking another sip off his eggnog, "That'd be fun."
"Great! Sam Ash it is." Rogue finished. And with that, she walked back up the stairs to her room.
Lhach looked back into the fire and slowly fell asleep.
The next morning was as brisk and cold as ever. Lhach and Rogue took the subway down to New York City early in the morning to beat the crowds of last minute shoppers. As they reached Sam Ash, dozens of people littered the streets, making the traffic a complete nightmare. And inside the store it was no better. In fact, you could say it might have been even worse.
But Rogue and Lhach had managed to get through the crowds and buy a few new CDs and head back home still in one piece.
(a/n hey, I'm impressed, after seeing NYC during x/mas time… well, lets just say it was very exhausting… -.-')
Lhach thanked Rogue for the hundredth time for the CD and headed up to his room.
Meanwhile, Xavier and Beast were enjoying the holiday season the way they always have… playing chess. Usually, Scott would join them, but after previously being reunited with his younger brother, Alex, Scott had started spending the holiday seasons down in California with him.
Chess is what made Christmas, Christmas for Beast and Xavier. After developing the habit of playing chess at this time every year, it simply wouldn't be Christmas without it. But for Lhach, Christmas had become, for him, joining the other prisoners in Westin Hills for dinner, and watching them visit with their families in their cells for a while. Even if Lhach was free, even if the holidays at the Institute were better, it still wasn't the same.
Lhach shook himself mentally. What the hell was he thinking? He almost… missed Westin Hills. For a spit second, he felt a yarning to go back. But another second later he stood in shock of the thought. It was impossible. He wanted to be sick for just thinking about such a thing.
Lhach sat down under his window and unwrapped the CD Rogue had bought for him. Reaching over to his stereo, he popped the CD in and pressed play.
Something was different. Something wasn't right.
Lhach turned the music louder.
He couldn't stop thinking. Thinking about something. He didn't know what. But it made him sick to his stomach.
He turned up the music again.
The thought wouldn't leave. He felt anxious, nervous, scared, by something.
The music wasn't drowning it out.
Xavier clicked one of his pieces down, "Checkmate."
Beast nodded and moved his own piece, "Do you hear that noise?"
The ceiling was shaking under Lhach's room.
"No." Xavier responded, completely absorbed in the game.
Beast moved another piece, "Hmm…"
Xavier took his turn, "Checkmate."
"Are you sure you don't hear that?"
"Could it be your nerves? You're losing."
"Hmm…" Beast responded again.
"Lhach!" Rogue pounded on his door, "Turn that down, I have to study for school." Rogue cocked her head in awareness as the door clicked open and she fell into Lhach's room.
She got up to her feet, brushing herself off, and looked around. The music was blaring. Rogue walked over the stereo and turned the music back down.
"Lhach?"
No one answered. No one was there.
"Where did he go?" She thought out loud.
Scanning the room once more, her stomach churned. Something was wrong. Seriously wrong.
"Lhach?"
His window. It was open.
A sudden panic coming over her, Rogue rushed to the window and looked across the yard. A white sheet of snow covered the trees and the road. No footprints, no sign of anything; it was perfectly white.
The windowpane grew darker. Her shadow had expanded, forming another person lurking in the darkness behind her. Rogue turned, her hair flinging in front of her face.
"Lhach!" She gasped, almost screamed.
Lhach hovered over her, his hair hanging over his half of his face.
"Yeh scared the shit outta meh!" She breathed, "What are yeh doin?"
But Lhach's expression remained impassive.
Rogue stared curiously at him, "Lhach? Ar yeh akay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He muttered, sauntering over to his desk.
"Um, akay." She mumbled back.
"The noise stopped."
Beast clicked his last piece down, "Hmm…"
"I win."
"I know."
"Play again?"
"Nah."
Xavier and Beast's rapt conversation (a/n I'm using sarcasm… can you tell? Haha… laugh with me people…) was suddenly interrupted with a knock at the door.
Rising from the table, Beast went to answer the door. However, upon opening it, he found that there was no one there. Looking around cautiously, he noticed a letter on the snow.
Beast picked it up and flipped it over to find the address of the Institute, and Lhach's name at the top of it.
"Who was it?" Xavier emerged around the corner.
Beast, still examining the letter, frowned, "The return address says, Westin Hills."
Xavier sighed, his expression falling as well, "You'd better give it to him. No use hiding it."
"Hmm… right."
Lhach sat in the middle of his floor, his headphones on (only because Rogue made him), scribbling something down in dark blue notebook. He sat, transfixed in the music, with no other thoughts than the ones being screamed in the song. But a loud noise interrupted those thoughts. Lhach removed the earpieces, letting them hang around his neck, and looked towards the source of the sound.
Something was lying in front of his door. Lhach got to his feet and picked up the letter.
"Lhach Lucas Laurenson… " He read silently off the note, "You have been invited within the following dates, December 20th – December 25th…" He murmured on.
Lhach scammed the page hastily, his hands shaking, and thrust the letter onto the floor.
"Those bastards!" He screamed, "Who the Hell do they think they are?" Lhach held his head in his hands to try to contain himself and flopped down into an armchair next to his bed.
After a moments of cooling down, Lhach glanced again at the letter from across the room. He shifted his weight onto the floor and sat there, staring at the paper.
"Dear Lhach Lucas Laurenson," the letter read, "You have been invited within the following dates, December 20th – December 25th to visit Westin Hills: Mental Institution, for a short pre-designated amount of time over the holidays. During this time, a large Christmas dinner will be served in the main dining area, open to all staff, security members, and of course, Westin Hills inmates. Your presence is greatly desired, but not recommended. You may also bring gifts or cards to any of the inmates of your choosing (gifts will be inspected and possibly confiscated if package contains any violent, or possibly harmful substance, or anything potentially dangerous to the health and well being of the inmates and/or of others). Thank you and congratulations on your discharge of Westin Hills. We hope you will be joining us for the holidays."
Lhach pulled the paper down away from his face and aimed it at a trash bin next to his desk. Glaring at it for a moment, as if speaking to a small child, he muttered.
"Kcuf…. ouy…."
Xavier let out a frustrated sigh, "They're not doing this so he'll come back to see them. Westin Hills doesn't think he should have been released, and I guess that's just their way of saying it."
"Pretty vulgar of them, don't you think?"
"You should go make sure Lhach hasn't destroyed anything yet."
"Right."
Kinda short, I know, but it's building up to something… don't you worry. The next chapter will be longer. And certainly updated faster. And yes, Lhach's full name is Lhach Lucas Laurenson. It comes from my original name for him which was Lucas but then Sins of the Son aired and it turned out that Xavier's son was named Lucas so I changed the name to Lhach which means flame in German and deer in Elvish. Also, the whole Jubilate thing is actually the name of the choir I'm in and we preformed witha the Jofferey Ballet (sp) and we ended up preforming in Washing DC for like, 3 weeks at 14 different stages and stuff, one of them being at the Kennedy Center over Thanksgiving... it was cool. Anyhoo… please review! And check out my new site on FictionPress. The name's Jupiter666 there. Same pen name as here.