1Chapter Two

I was introduced to the newest member of Xavier school when I got to class at the local high school. He was a cute, blonde boy wearing a heavy trench coat, and a dark green sweater.

"Joanna, this is Warren Worthington III." Rogue introduced him to me.

"Hi." I shook his hand, and turned to Rogue. "Have you heard anything more about...you know?"

"No, I haven't. I'm sure it's dying down now. You can relax. You know these guys. They'll talk about anything until it's good and dead."

I sighed.

"Am I missing something?" Warren asked.

"No, of course not. Just teenaged drama." I waved it off, and sat down in a chair.

I got to know Warren over the next week, or as we came to call him, Angel. At a point think I saw that Logan seemed jealous almost. He seemed to ride Warren harder, and me a little easier in our Danger Room exercises -which Warren was amazing at.

Warren has wings. They're amazing to look at. They're wide, white, and feathered, and I love that he can fly. I hate that I can't take on physical power. Being able to fly without having to use my transformation powers would be very cool, and I'd be afraid to absorb Storm's power, and control wind current to fly. I'd probably mess it up.

On Friday night, I sat on the couch, several of us taking up the room. Warren and I sat on the couch, Rogue sat in Bobby's lap, in a chair at our right, while Kurt was on the floor in front of Kitty's chair on our left. My head was on my shoulder, there being an acceptable distance between Warren and I. Our hands were on the cushion between us, close...dangerously close, if I hadn't been wearing my gloves.

The television was playing some sitcom, but I think we were all more interested in our heated argument. It had started with Rogue bringing up the subject of Logan and my kissing, again. Kitty, Kurt, and Bobby all said it was wrong and immoral for me to be even interested in a man so much older then I, with so much about him unknown. Rogue and Angel sided with me that it wasn't about his age. It was him. And of course, I had to correct them that I hadn't kissed him. He kissed me.

Because it's true, I swear. -Hey, have I given you any reason to doubt me yet? I thought not.

"It is perfectly acceptable in today's society for a man to date younger women. I mean, look at all of the celebrities who have been dating younger?" Warren said. "Taboo isn't taboo anymore."

"OK, what about girls dating younger guys?" Kitty asked. "Would you date a woman Mr. Logan's age?"

"Seeing as how his age is undetermined, I don't see how that applies." Angel scoffed.

"And besides," I added. "Women don't age as well as men. Can't we drop this?" I asked, standing.

"Yes, yes, but don't think you are getting away so easily." Kurt waved disapprovingly at me.

"Of course not, Kurt. Does anyone want anything from the kitchen?" I asked, backing slowly towards the door.

I took orders, and walked towards the kitchen. I had just closed the refrigerator door when I noticed Logan leaning in the doorway.

"I've heard rumors, kid." His voice was rough, and his arms were crossed over his chest.

"I swear that I didn't have anything to do with it, Logan." I set down the cans on the counter.

"I know you didn't. I did." He said, uncrossing his arms and entering the kitchen. "I had a chat with Jean, who told Scott, who told just about everyone."

"Well at least I know who to blame now." He was standing in front of me, his thumbs looped into the pockets on his jeans. I tapped his shin with my sneaker. "Way to go, we're talk of the town. Congrats."

"It wasn't supposed to spread like wild fire. I just wanted advice, and Jean seemed like my best bet."

"Advice about what?"

"About you, actually."

"Oh? And what did Jean say?"

"Who cares what Jean said?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I take it, it wasn't what you wanted to hear?" I asked.

"Not exactly." It came out as more of a growl and he leaned forward. A whistle from the doorway stopped him before he actually kissed me. We both turned, everyone from the living room crowded in the doorway. I saw a glint of one of Warren's wings, the only clue that he had been present.

"We got worried when you were not coming back." Kurt was grinning.

"I'm real sorry...really, continue with what y'all were doing." Rogue rounded the crowd away from the door. "Sorry again. Take yer time."

Logan took a step back. "Maybe we should do this later when we can talk in private?"

"Okay." I nodded. "Tomorrow, sometime?"

"Works for me. We'll find each other." He growled. He kissed me on the cheek, and was gone.

I sunk back onto the couch a minute later, handing everyone their soda's. I was left with an extra. "Where's Warren?" I asked.

"I don't know... He didn't come back in with us." Rogue shrugged.

"I changed my mind, Joanna." Kurt raised his can of soda. "Maybe you're right. It didn't look as wrong as I thought it would."

"...Thanks Kurt. I think."

I knocked on the door to Warren and Kurt's room later, when I knew Kurt wouldn't be around.

"Come in."

"Hi." I opened the door. Warren was lying on his bed reading a magazine.

"Oh, hi." He closed the magazine with a ruffle of pages, and sat up. "What's up?"

"Nothing...I just... Well, you didn't come back after, you know, and... I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"Yea, I'm fine." He nodded.

I bit on the inside of my cheek, and I closed the door. "No, really...what's the matter?" I sat on the edge of the chair by the end of this bed. "You can tell me."

"It's nothing...I don't know why it bothers me." He lay back down, reopening the magazine.

"What? Warren, talk to me. I thought we were becoming friends."

He dropped the magazine, "We were, I mean, we are. I just...I saw you with him. I thought...I thought I could handle that. I really like you, and...seeing him about to kiss you... I just...I didn't know I'd care so much."

"God, if you get this worked up about him almost kissing me, imagine the pain you'd be suffering if he'd actually gotten that far."

"You must think I'm the stupidest guy you've ever met." He buried his head in his hands. "God, I am such a loser."

"No, no...you're sweet." I smiled, moving onto the bed beside him. "I really like you too...but...Logan...he's just...he's been in my head since I got here... I gotta see what it is about him."

"I understand." Warren nodded. "Do what you have to do." He kissed me on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Warren."

"Goodnight, Joanna."

Late on Saturday night, I ended up down stairs, flipping through the channels on TV. Nothing was ever on. I don't know why I bothered.

"Don't you ever sleep, Kid?" Logan's gruff voice was in the doorway.

"Yea, sometimes." I turned around, leaning against the back of the couch. "Don't you?"

"Not when I'm the only adult in the castle." His voice was laced with sweet sarcasm.

I nodded. "Probably a good thing... You never know what these people are really up to."

"They know better then to fool around when I'm in charge." He sat down on the couch beside me. "Don't they?"

I shrugged, and smirked, "They might...and then again, some of them know how to shut off the security camera's in the Danger Room."

He let out a snort. "All the luck to 'em, truly."

I smiled, and went back to flipping through the channels.

"Don't you ever settle on something?"

"Nothing is interesting." I told him, pausing.

"Then why don't you shut it off, and read a book, or something."

"This is more fun." I nudged his knee.

"I can think of quite a few things that are a hell of a lot more fun then this." He grumbled.

I flirted, "Anything that takes two?" I raised an eyebrow.

He smirked at me, "This is gonna make me some kind of glutton for punishment, isn't it?" And then he kissed me, softly at first, then harder.

Then he made a line of them down my jaw, across my throat. His hands were pulling me up into his lap, tugging at the back of my shirt. My hands went first for his hair, pulling his head lightly back, bring his lips back to mine. Then they slipped down to his hips, where I steadied myself.

He grunted, and pulled away, "We're gonna get caught, aren't we?"

"It's highly likely." I nodded.

"Then we probably shouldn't do this, huh?" He asked.

"No...we shouldn't." I sighed, falling back onto the cushion beside him. "Even though that isn't what either of us wants."

He kissed me on the cheek, "I'm not saying we don't pursue this later, Jo. I'm sayin' we can't pursue this now. You're still only seventeen, and if the Professor ever found out...I don't want to think about what he might do to me."

"You could always tell him I was a willing party." I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yea, he'd love that one." He scoffed.

"So, no more late night's?" I asked.

"No more late nights."

"No more kitchen incidences?"

"Thank god, no." He shook his head.

"Alright." I stood up. "You know where to find me, should you change your mind, and I'm free."

"A girl like you will get grabbed up fast, I won't waste my breath." He winked at me.

"Good night, Mr. Logan." I kissed him, both of us savoring our last like we had our first.

"Good night, Joanna."

Rogue was still awake when I opened the door to the room, "Oh, hey. You're back early."

"Yea, well...I talked to Logan." I shrugged, kicking off my slippers. "We decided it wasn't worth it to risk anything."

"Aw, I was rooting for you." She smiled across the room at me. "I'm sure Kurt will be very disappointed when he hears."

"Warren won't."

"What about Warren?"

"He likes me."

"Well of course he likes you. Everyone likes you."

"No, no...I mean likes me."

"Oh...Oh, well, I knew that." She shrugged. "'Specially after he ran away from the kitchen yesterday. He's got if for you. You go for the wings?"

"I go for the wings." I nodded.

"I don't know...they might get mighty cumbersome." She shrugged.

"Oh, Rogue." I sighed. "We're seventeen, and in a highly guarded building. I doubt anything inside the bedroom will be happening soon."

"I wasn't even thinking about that..."

I threw a magazine from my bed at her, and she ducked, laughing, "Rogue!"

I slept in on Sunday morning. The weekend was going by to fast, and I didn't want it to be over yet. I got out of bed, and dressed a little after 10:30. By then, half of the students were either at the Chapel or milling the school, depressed about the weekend being nearly over.

I was sitting on the counter in the kitchen eating a muffin, and reading the comic's when Warren walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning." He nodded at me. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough." I shrugged. "I don't want my weekend to be over yet."

"Savoring your last hours then?"

"Something like that." I smiled.

Logan entered a minute later after Warren had made himself comfortable at the table.

"Get off the counter." He growled, tapping my thigh with his knuckles. "People eat there." He whipped open the refrigerator door and took out a soda.

I jumped down, leaning against the cabinet doors instead.

"Have you told anyone?"

"Only Rogue." I shrugged.

"What about..." He nodded over his shoulder at Warren."

"No, but I'm sure he's not completely retarded, and is getting the wrong idea." I threw away the wrapper from my muffin and teleported back on top of the counter in front of him.

"You and your new powers..." He growled. "You just like to show off, don't you?"

"Yea, me and my big head."

He grunted. "I have things to do...and I meant it about getting off the counter."

I grinned at this retreating back.

"I take it all is well on the Joanna-Logan front." Warren peered over his book.

"Yea...but it's not like that." I told him, jumping off the counter to join him at the table.

"Well then, please... fill me in."

"We've decided not to risk it all."

"So you're free as a bird?"

"...So to speak, yea."

"How about going out with me then?" He asked. "I can loose the wings if you like...they're almost completely unnoticeable under a jacket.

"Sure." I nodded. "Where to?"