Disclaimer: All of the usual stuff, I don't own anything or anyone.

Sidenote: Again there's lyrics in the chapter, this time ending them out so you don't have to be so confused. Enjoy reading!

I had already been at the school for three months when it turned December. My parents were still searching for me and I hardly ever went out because of it. As far as I knew, none of the students knew my secret, only the Professor, Scott, Storm and Logan. I, for once in a very long time, felt like I fit in. Rouge and I had become fairly good friends, and I enjoyed living in the mansion more that I could have imagined. Even though Scott was still tore up about Dr. Jean Gray being gone it had seemed as if almost everyone else had started to get over it. Everything was going the way that I had pretty much planned it, only it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. The only thing that didn't fit into my plans; Logan, I had a terrible crush on him and flirted with him like mad. Sometimes he would take it and be friendly with me, but other times it was if he thought he shouldn't even talk to me because I was so much younger than he was. I wanted him to realize that I wasn't a little girl, I was an adult and that I was free to do what I wanted, with the exception of anything involving proper I.D. or other forms of identification, of course. However, it was the same for him, so it didn't matter.

I was sitting in the living room, alone, reading. Everyone had gone out Christmas shopping, but because I knew everywhere was going to be crowded, I opted to stay home. I was reading a romance novel that I had packed with me when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Ahh!" I screamed out, turning in my chair and dropping my book. I saw Logan standing beside me with a triumphant grin on his face.

"You know, you really shouldn't let people sneak up on you when you're all by yourself," he said, looming over me in my chair.

"You scared me half to death, I thought you were gone?" I asked, holding my hand over my chest as I felt my heart beating faster.

"No, I'm here to keep up with you," he said.

"I'm not a kid; I don't need someone keeping tabs on me at all times. I am fine on my own," I said.

"We remember what happened to you that last time you were on your own; you pissed off a drunk guy and got smacked."

"Well, I don't think I'm in any danger here, not like that at least."

"So, what book are you reading?"

"Just a book," I said as he picked it up, thumbed through a few pages and stopped on one. I watched as he raised his eyebrow after reading some of the lines. I began to blush, as I was embarrassed for him to read it.

"You know guys don't really act like that, right?" he asked.

"Some do," I said.

"Like who?"

"I don't know, just some," I said, "and besides Logan, just because you aren't romantic and charming doesn't mean that other men aren't."

"You don't think I'm charming?" he asked, cocking and eyebrow.

"No, I don't," I lied, standing from my chair and snatching my book from his hands and walking away.

"So what do you this is 'charming'?" he asked, making the word 'charming' sound as if it were a deadly disease and talking about it disgusted him.

"Not being able to down twelve shots of whiskey without getting drunk or puking, swearing at everything that breaks or whipping out your middle claw in a clever attempt to flip off Scott," I said, turning back to him.

I watched as he grinned, proud of the fact that I had thought using his claw to flip off Scott was at one point 'clever'. "I guess you just don't have good taste, kid," he said, staring me in the eye.

"And that's another thing; I'm not a kid. Are you aware of the fact that I am twenty-two years old? That's technically an adult, so if you could use my name I would appreciate that,"

"Your name…is that Holly or Jewel?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Either," I said frustrated, "it isn't, however, 'kid'."

"So if you're an adult then why did you have to runaway from home? Should you have just told them to leave you alone?"

"You are such an egotistical, cocky, jerk," I spat.

"That's why you like me,"

"I don't like you, I tolerate you," I smirked, turning away. He grabbed my arm and turned me back around.

"I don't think that's what it is," he said.

Was he flirting with me? Was Logan actually flirting with me? I didn't know what to do for sure but I had been in love with him since I had met him and decided to take a chance on what I wanted.

"Then what do you think it is?" I asked.

"I think that you want me,"

"Hm…" I said, "Could you be a little bit more descriptive, because I'm not sure what you mean?"

"Sorry kid, that's as descriptive as I get," he said, walking past me.

I stood in the living room by myself, watching him walk away.

"Logan," I called after him. He didn't turn around, so I followed him. I followed him up the stairs all the way up to the second floor and stopped him just before he opened the door to his room. "Logan, what did I do? I'm sorry if I said something that upset you but could you just explain it to me so that I know what's going on?"

"You're twenty-two," he said to me, resting his hands on his waist.

"I'm aware of that," I said, grasping for his point.

"Do you know how old I am?"

"No, do you?"

"That's not the point,"

"What is, because I'm missing it?"

"Do you know what this will take away from you?" he asked. I was completely lost.

"Do I know what what will take away from me?"

"I won't say it,"

"Could you, please? Because if you don't say it then I don't know what you're talking about and then this conversation is completely pointless," I argued.

"What do you want from me?" he asked.

"Oh my word," I said with a sigh, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about what you want from me, no games, none of that crap. What was the point of the conversation downstairs?" he asked, motion his hand and point towards the stairs.

I thought about it; what did I want from him? It was plain and simple and that's what I had to tell him, "I want you to treat me like an adult. I want you to see me as a grown woman, not a little kid that you rescued in a bar somewhere. I want you to realize that I am capable of having feelings for someone other than that of a sixteen-year-old schoolgirl. I like you a lot Logan, I have since I met you and I would appreciate it if you would respect me, and my feelings, instead of playing them off as a simple crush. Even if I do just have a crush on you, it's not exactly something I could help, but if you have a problem with it, could you do me a big favor and make up your mind about how you want to treat me? It would be nice if you could decide whether you want to continue treating me like a child and stop flirting with me, or if you like me, too," I said.

"No,"

"No what?" I demanded desperately.

"Do you know what I would take away from you?"

"If you're talking about what you would take away from me if we had a relationship together, then the answer is nothing. I don't have anything, Logan. Maybe that's why I'm so wrapped up in you; on a slim chance, you are all I have. I don't have a family, I don't have a life, I'm just living here with all of this guilt and the only time I can ever escape it is when I'm with you. You calm me and protect me, even though I don't need you to. You save me from drowning in my own thoughts. I can sit at my window, stare out at nowhere, and see you everywhere. So don't talk to me about what I would lose it we were together, because the only thing I can lose is you," I said with a tear running down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away. I crossed my arms and turned my body away from his. I was stupid to say all of that; he didn't have to know everything. He didn't need to know how much I felt about him. I cursed myself for saying too much. "I'm sorry, just act like you didn't hear this." I walked away embarrassed and before I got to the flight of stairs you could no longer see me. I just stood there at the top of the stairwell crying. Logan walked to me silently and hugged me.

"Sshh, it's alright," he cooed, stroking my hair in an attempt to calm me and bring me back. As I stood with him holding me, I breathed him in. He smelled of cigars and cheap cologne, and the smell sooth me until I became visible again. He continued to hold me as he began to speak, "I don't want to see you get hurt anymore, especially if it's by me. But I don't want to get hurt again either, kid. I know what it feels like not to have a home, not to have a life and I don't want you to have to feel like that. I know that you're old enough to decided what you want to do, but I don't want to feel like I'm making you do something,"

"But you're not," I said, pulling away from him.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything to keep me around,"

"Okay Logan, but what do you want? What do you want from me?" I asked, staring him straight in the eye.

He ran his fingers through his hair. I knew that talking about his feelings wasn't Logan's strongest attribute, that was making sarcastic remarks about everything, which I was surprised he hadn't done during our conversation. "I don't know,"

"Yes you do, you made me tell you now I want to know. Are we on the same page; are we even in the same book?"

He let out a heavy sigh. "I want to protect you and take care of you,"

"You can,"

"I want you to know that you can have a home right here with me; you don't have to run anymore, not unless I'm with you,"

"I do know that,"

"I want you to know that I'm sorry for making you feel guilty about leaving and I hate that I ever did. I know that that was a hard choice to make and that you have to live with it without me saying anything to you," He waited for me to respond but all I did was nod my head showing him that I knew he was sorry. "I want to kiss you,"

"Okay," I said as he put his hands up to my face and pulled me close to him, he looked into my eyes, "This is what I want, too." He nodded then slowly leaned in to kiss me. A desire that had been burning since I met him was finally met as our lips touched. A sensation I had never known was brought to life as I lovingly kissed back the man who felt as lost as me and I felt right at home in his arms, feeling that they were made just for me. Every other boy that I had kisses was just that, a boy. They knew nothing about pain, sorrow, joy or love. They just thought they did. They never knew me, either. I could tell them almost everything but my powers always stayed with me. There was something liberating about Logan knowing all of my secrets and everything about me. It was beautiful being with him, knowing nothing about who he used to be and knowing everything about who he was. He was a man who had felt everything that I had and more. He had lost his life, his home, people that he loved, and in that moment the salvation from our broken hearts was found in each other's arms. I had never felt so free, so strong, and so brave. I was brave enough to touch him as I held his face. I inhaled him deep, wanting to keep that sent in my memory forever. He pulled away abruptly, cursing.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Scott," he said through gritted teeth.

"What is he doing back so early?"

"I don't know,"

"Is he by himself?"

"Yeah,"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Stay here, I'll be right back," he said, turning and going down the stairs. I used my powers and watched over the second floor balcony quietly as Scott walked through the door just as Logan stopped off the last stair. "Are you supposed to be shopping?" he asked with a sarcastic tone.

"I came to make sure the house was still here, we know what happened the last time you were left alone," Scott said, closing the door. "Actually the Professor wanted me to tell Jewel that the President's going to be giving a speech in a few minutes. We tried calling but since you apparently don't know how to answer a phone, I had to dive over here."

"Too bad, 'cause we know how much you have to do anything that involves moving anymore,"

"Just tell Jewel that, okay?" he said.

"Yeah, fine,"

"Good, now I have to go back and actually do my job," Scott said, turning to leave. He opened the door and before he walked out, he turned to Logan and said, "Don't do anything too stupid, we still need a house when we come home."

Once he left, I slowly ascended the stairs, allowing myself to become more visible with each step.

"Did you hear that, kid?" he asked me, still watching the front door.

"Yeah,"

"Let's go see what he has to say, then," he said, heading towards the living room. I followed lightly behind him and by the time I got there he had the TV turned onto a channel playing my father's announcement. I stood silently beside him as we both watched my father walk to a podium and waited as the reporter's claps died down.

"In a conference held this morning the cabinet has motioned to vote for a Mutant Registration Law. We will decide together what the best move is for our country. If we feel that mutants are posing a threat to our society, then we will do whatever is necessary to protect the people of our nation. However, if we feel that mutants in general are not harming us, then with the proper evidence we will not pass the Registration Law. Once that is done, we will decide upon whether or not we will allow there to be a state-by-state law. Moreover, both laws will require all mutants to be kept under twenty-four hour surveillance, be registered as a mutant and a weapon. If it is a state-by-state law then each state will be held responsible for all mutants registered within their limits. We will be listening to arguments from both sides and will weigh the pros and cons before anything is passed. We realize that no matter the outcome, that each decision has its own consequence, both a good and bad outcome. We are fully aware that this will have a significant impact on both the guilty and the innocent. Nevertheless, as I said before, we will do whatever it takes to protect our country and its people. Thank you," he said, tugging on his ear, which he did at the end of every speech. It was always his way of saying 'hello' to our family while he was on TV. We got the idea from 'The Carol Burnett Show', his favorite.

"I thought you said he wasn't going to pass it with you gone?" Logan asked me.

"I don't think he will,"

"I hope you're right,"

Give a little bit.
Give a little bit of your love to me.
Give a little bit.
I'll give a little bit of my love to you.
See the man with the lonely eyes
Take his hand, you'll be surprised.

So I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you.
So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your time to me.
Now's the time that we need to share
So send a smile, we're on our way back home.