Disclaimer: You get the picture . . . If you don't, well, I'm not getting into it.
A/N: Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm back. Sorry I've been gone for so long, but a bizillion things were piled on me at once (the One Acts, finals, a new semester, you know, life) and just found the time now to start writing. BTW, wow, you guys! Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I love you guys so much!
There was a ringing in Gwen's ears. She had miraculously found her way to her first class with the directions from Rogue she had barely listened to. Her arm was throbbing as the blood began its process of clotting. Her meeting with the good Dr. Grey had left her dazed and befuddled. She was so lost, something felt completely out of place about that woman, and yet Gwen just couldn't figure it out. Gwen wanted to reach out to this stranger, to speak to her, to cry to her, to embrace her, and yet those were the exact things that made her want to keep as much distance between them as much as humanly possible.
Suddenly the ringing stopped. Gwen's mind was ripped from her thoughts and brought abruptly back to the world that surrounded her: the world of reality. She focused her gaze at the students rushing passed her to their seats. Their happy voices stung her ears. She fought off the strong urge to simply let all of her troubles flow from her pale eyes and slide down her ashen cheeks. Her breathing began to hasten, causing her arm to pulsate even more, spreading the pain like an unrestrained wild fire running rampant through a grassy meadow. She hated them, every last one of them. And yet, she wanted to be one of them. She wanted to have her own niche, her own friends, her own happy life with the feeling of security that she'd always longed for. If only she knew that much of the students at Xavier's school had been rejected by or ran away from their so-called 'loving families' and that many of them shared her feelings of loneliness.
"Gwen?"
Swinging around, Gwen looked into the deep brown eyes of Rogue, who looked worried.
"So?" Rogue asked, "How did it go? With the professor?"
"Uh, oh that, yeah, it went okay."
"You sure? You seem a little - "
"Okay everyone, in your seats." A voice said from the door, a voice that made Gwen want to sink into the floor, "C'mon you guys, you all heard the bell ring."
Jean Grey strolled into the classroom, passing Gwen without a glance, and headed for the front of the room. Rogue walked Gwen to her seat. Dr. Grey began her lecture that had something to deal with the lining of the stomach, but that was as far as Gwen's attention span got. She was fighting the inner battle of whether or not to look up at the teacher as she paced at the head of the room or to keep her eyes glued to the grey-ish colour of her desk.
"Hey," Gwen suddenly heard Rogue's whispering voice from her left.
"What?" Gwen whispered back through the side of her mouth.
"What happened? With the professor?"
Gwen was silent. She wasn't sure how to respond. While Professor Xavier's repercussions (or lack there of) had been mild, she was sure that Rogue expected something truly heinous as a punishment.
"If you don't want to say, I understand."
Gwen turned her shaded eyes towards Rogue; "Nothing happened."
"What?"
"Nothing happened." Gwen explained truthfully.
"Nothing?"
"He just talked to me. That's it."
Rogue nodded and turned back to her notes. Gwen glanced over her shades in Jean's direction. She was in the process of writing some notes about tapeworms and what they do. The chalk banging against the board echoed in Gwen's head, making it hard to focus. Gwen tried to pick up her pen, in hopes of getting as many notes down as possible, but found that she could not grip the thin rod. Her fingers were shaking, and her arm was throbbing at an extreme.
She pulled her hand against her torso, in hopes of calming the blood flow. She closed her eyes, wishing that there was some way she could just right then and there. Jean's voice became softer and softer as continued to lecture about the stomach - or was it the stomach? Suddenly, Gwen couldn't remember. She looked up towards the board, but couldn't see anything. There was a sudden rush of blood leaving her head. The ringing came back again, much louder this time. Sliding her chair back, Gwen threw her head between her knees.
She didn't ever hear the worried words coming Rogue as Gwen distractedly became invisible and, without anyone seeing, toppled off her chair and onto the floor.
"Oh my God!" Rogue screamed, "Gwen!"
Jean hastily turned around at the sound of Rogue's panicked voice. Dropping her chalk, Jean ran to the back of the room, "What happened?"
"I don't know!" Rogue cried, "she just - disappeared!"
"What's her mutation?"
"She was right there!" Rogue exclaimed, her breathing hastening, "She just, she just . . . "
"Someone get her out of here!" Dr. Grey ordered as she fell to her knees and began to feel around the floor, hoping that her idea of what Gwen's mutation was would be right.
-
Gwen sighed. The world around her was quiet. Everything seemed to stop. She was surrounded by a brilliant white light. She felt weightless, almost as if she were being raised from the ground into the sky by some unknown, heavenly force. In this moment, life and all existence was perfect. She wished that she could stay like this forever. This paradise where everything was silent and pain-free.
-
Jean hit something on the floor, something that couldn't be seen. She had been right. She leaned down in hopes of listening for any signs of breathing. There was nothing. Suddenly terrified, Jean felt for Gwen's shoulder and roller her onto her back very gently. She leaned down and strained to listen for a heartbeat. Again, there was nothing. Fearing the worst, she ran her hand softly down Gwen's arm. Jean found the hand, which was freezing cold, and checked the pulse. Thanking God, Jean found one. It was slow, too slow to be normal.
"Kailey, get a blanket! I don't care where from, just go!" Jean cried, "Hurry! Joe, go get some help! Everyone else, back up!" she yelled to the crowd that had gathered.
Jean found Gwen's shoulder and gently rolled her onto her back. Taking her other shoulder, Jean began to lightly shake Gwen, in hopes of making her visible. It didn't work. Jean had never worked with a mutant who had the ability to become invisible before and, therefore, had no idea on how to deal with Gwen in her fragile state. There was a sudden rush of running sneakers and Kailey returned with a heavy brown blanket. Jean took it and wrapped Gwen tightly.
-
There was a sudden rush of warmth that crept through Gwen's icy body. It was a welcome sensation that made her feel all the better. She was content as she hovered within the light that surrounded her. The cold had been the one thing that stung her in this place of joy. She prayed that she would never have to leave. She closed her eyes, and went to sleep
-
Suddenly, Gwen's pulse dropped to a dangerously low speed. Jean began to panic, not fully understanding the situation or know how to help.
"Jean?"
Suddenly, everything that was happening seemed to stop all at once. Looking up, Jean was staring at Scott Summers and Professor Xavier, who slowly rolled over to Jean, his face completely void of any emotions. Of anyone, he would know how to help her.
Scott knelt beside Jean, taking her hand away from Gwen's, "It's okay, let her go. Just let her go."
"I - I can't."
"Jean," Scott said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder in comfort.
She looked over to the professor as he closed his eyes and began to creep slowly into Gwen's mind. Scott motioned for the students to leave. One by one, they grabbed their books and got up from their seats in silence and went to the door. As the last one left, Jean looked to Xavier, "Is she - dying?"
"No, she is still alive and - " the professor opened his eyes, looking down to Gwen, then over to Jean and Scott, "she's happy."
The professor closed his eyes again. Jean looked to where a brown blanket was seemingly floating in mid-air before her, confused.
-
Gwen's breathing was slowing, but she didn't notice. She was happy, for the first time in ages. Suddenly, something jolted through her. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away. Whatever it was, it was tearing away all of her new-found happiness. She didn't want it to. Pain began to erupt throughout her body. She opened her eyes and in one moment, everything went black
-
Another A/N: Hey my ever faithful reviewers ( I love you guys so much!), I am so very sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I started a new semester at school, so things should be going rather slow for a while, hopefully. I will try to update as fast as I can. FYI, I'm making no promises.
Remus Is Mine - I told you so! Those assholes . . . Anyhoo, thank you! One of my best chapters? Well! Shucks! You are too kind, no really, you are! I totally understand about school. I don't know how old you are or what grade you're in, but I can tell you that Junior year (in high school) sucks. That's why it takes me forever and a half to update!
ME - Oh good, I'm glad. Thank you for such compliments! I hope you liked this chapter!
A Lost Soul - WHAT? pulls out a wand Avada . . . Whoa, wait, wrong movie! And, NO, I don't like the idea of extortion! And now for something completely different. Thank you! You had a hunch? Did I give you permission to have a hunch? Hmm? I think not! My heart wasn't stricken with fear, per say, but rather with a sort of happiness (with the fact that you've been paying attention to the fic) I hope you liked the chapter!
Neko the Ninja - Look at Insanity and her mad skills! You can rhyme! A-Mazing! Uh, depressing? I wonder why? Hmm, let me ponder that, I'll come back to you.
Diaz F - You mean the whole thing hasn't been good? Well! Ha, I'm only bluffing. goes into a fake whisper Shhh! Don't give any hints to A Lost Soul! Did she hear that? Oh, crap, I hope not . . . I'm glad you like the story! That makes me smile.
Dory Shotgun - Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying the fic! And, in about your question, the title of chapter two will give you your answer.
Rogue200315 - Thanks so much! I'm pleased that you're enjoying the fic!
Goldenkeys - Wow! Thank you! Sorry about the tardiness of this update, school is no fun.