He smiled.
"Yeah. It's me, Lily.." She placed her hands over her mouth, in a gasp. A smile spread across her face as she ran across the kitchen, and threw her arms around him.
"John? Oh, God, you came back!" she cried. He put his arms around her waist, spinning her around.
"Yea, course I came back. Couldn't just leave you here." She jumped down, pushing him back.
"Well, obviously you could, or you wouldn't have left in the first place," she said, knitting her eyebrows together. He shook his head.
"Couldn't leave you here forever, Lily. It just took a me a while to get back." She shook her head, and threw her arms around him again.
"God, I missed you.I missed you so much." she whispered, closing her eyes, pressing her cheek against his. He pulled back, and kissed her, quickly.
"Ditto."
"Are you here.to stay?" she asked, unsure. He hesitated, and she lowered her head.
"Yeah, I'm here to stay. I'm not planning on leavin' anytime soon, anyway." She giggled, and took his hand.
"Come on.let's walk." She hooked her arm thru his, retaking his hand in hers, and smiled.
"It's good to see you again, Lily.especially since I didn't see you the day I left."
"I know.Because I got shot with one of those.taser things." she said, motioning to her neck.
"Kinda worried me, when I didn't know where you were, and Bobby told me you got taken away by Stryker's guys." She nodded.
"Worried me when I woke up and didn't know where you were.but felt you were gone." He leaned down, kissing her forehead, as they headed outside. "Does Xavier know you're here?" He shrugged.
"Probably. He can read minds, remember?" he asked. "Come on.let's get some lunch." Giggling, Lily and John walked out of the gates, and headed into town, to meet up with Bobby, Rogue, David, and Jubilee.
She covered her mouth, turning away from John, as she sneezed.
"Bless you." he muttered. She nodded, and swiped her hand against her leg.
"Thanks." Glancing in the window of the restaurant they were walking by, she tugged his arm, and looked up. "In here." she said, nodding. He tugged his hat down, and adjusted his sunglasses so they covered a good portion of his face. She couldn't even really tell it was him at the moment. They walked inside, and she waved to Rogue.
"Hey, Lily! I thought you weren't feeling good."
"Got better. Mind if we join you?" she asked, looking up at John for a second.
"Uh.no.not at all." Bobby said, pointing to the seats across from them. Jubilee and David slid around the curved booth, letting them in on the end. John sat on the outside, across from Bobby, and dropped his hands against the table. He pointed. "And.who's this?" he asked. Lily looked up, eyes wide with innocence and slight confusion, and looked over at John.
"Oh! Sorry.This is my friend." She reached up, smiling at him, and pulled the hat off his head and the glasses off his face. "John." Bobby jerked his head back in surprise, Rogue and Jubilee gasped, and David just raised an eyebrow.
"When did you get back?" Bobby asked.
"About an hour ago." Bobby reached up, scratching his head.
"Why did you come back?" David suddenly asked. John and Lily turned, to see if he was serious. He wasn't smiling, but was slightly frowning. John put his arm around Lily's shoulders.
"Because of Lily. Is that alright?" he asked, with a tone in his voice like he was calling David out.
"John, please. Don't fight. You just came back, I don't want you to fight." He shrugged.
"Well, its not as if he has his lighter to help him. Otherwise he'd be flicking that thing around." John reached into his pocket, and pulled out his silver shark lighter.
"Happy now that I took it out?" he asked, nearly slamming it on the table by Lily's plate. She flinched, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Please, don't fight." she said softly. He raised his hand in the air.
"I'm not fighting. If he wants to fight, fine, he can fight with himself." John stood up. "Great to see you guys again, come on Lily, let's go." She shook her head, standing up.
"Alright.sorry, guys," she said, looking back.
"It's alright," Rogue said, and watched them walk outside, John stepping back to snatch his lighter from the table.
Lily jammed her hands into her pockets, and walked back to the school with John, silent. They entered the gates, and stopped. John looked down at her.
"Look, I'm sorry, Lily, but David has always been a dick," he said. Lily sighed, and stuck out her hand. "What?" he asked.
"Give me your lighter."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you to do anything stupid," she said. He dug around in his pocket for a minute, and yanked it out, dropping it into her palm.
"I can't believe he's back," a voice said. Lily looked up, and turned, dropping the lighter into her pocket. Ami and Jen had walked to the gate, not noticing John and Lily, to talk to Bobby, David, Rogue, and Jubilee. They turned their heads, and gave a little wink at Lily. She turned away.
"I hate Ami." Lily muttered. John lifted her head.
"Why?" She looked up.
"Because she hates you.and the fact that I love you so much. She's just a bitch." John shook his head.
"Don't fight, Lily," he said, mockingly. She glared at him.
"This is different. I haven't been gone for three years. I've had to hear it every day since you left. Don't tell me not to fight." He smiled, leaned down, and kissed her.
"I love it when you're angry," he said. She giggled, and hooked her arm thru his. The small group by the gate had already gone inside, so they headed in. David walked back out, though, and nodded towards the two.
"Hey!"
"Shit." Lily muttered.
"What, David?" John asked.
"Just thought I'd tell you and your little bitchy girlfriend that Xavier wants to see you," he said, and started to turn way.
"What did you just say?" John asked. Lily lowered her arms, jaw dropped, surprised.
"You heard me. Your dumbass, bitchy girlfriend and you have to go see Xavier." John nodded, looking calm.
"That's what I thought." He paused for only a second, then swung his arm back, and slammed it, hard, into David's jaw. David stumbled back, surprised, but threw a punch right back at John. They began to fight, and Lily stepped back.
"Guys, stop it!" They continued to swing their fists, and John finally hit David hard enough to land him on the ground. He dropped down, and started beating him up again. "John, stop!" He didn't hear her. He kept fighting. She felt the tears on her cheeks as she continued to cry out, praying he'd stop. But he didn't. He kept fighting. She kept crying. Finally she turned, placing her hands against her face, and ran inside, not wanting to see it anymore.
She walked down the hall, and opened the door, peeking inside.
"Professor?"
"Come on in, Lily." She stepped in, and closed the door behind her.
"David said you wanted to see me."
"And John.why did he start fighting?" Xavier asked, turning around.
"David called me a dumbass bitch." Xavier nodded.
"That will not stand.." The door opened, and the two bruised boys stumbled inside, with Logan behind them.
"Thought you'd wanna handle this," he said, nodding to Lily and Xavier, and walked out. The guys walked over, and sat down, in front of Xavier, as though they knew what was coming.
"Why were you fighting when you knew you'd get in trouble?" he asked, looking at them. David jerked his thumb towards John.
"He started it."
"And finished it," he said, cracking his knuckles. Xavier shook his head.
"Logan finished it, John, don't get so full of yourself. David, you get a month of detention for calling Lily a name and fighting with John. John, you get a week detention for starting the fight. David, you may go." David stood up, rubbing his arm, and walked out the door. Lily sat down, and didn't look at John.
"What was it you needed to see us about?" she asked. He crossed his hands on his desk, and cleared his throat.
"It was more like what I needed to speak to John about.but I thought that, since you, too, were involved, I should bring you here." She lowered her head, knowing what he was talking about.
"Oh.that," she muttered. Xavier nodded, but John just kind of looked over at her, slightly confused.
"What's going on?" he asked. Xavier met Lily's eyes over the desk.
Do you want to tell him, Lily? Or would you rather I did? he thought to her.
I think.I should tell him. If he gets mad, it would be at me, not you.this may be best. Xavier nodded, and Lily pushed her chair over a bit, closer to John's, and took his hands.
"Uh, John.listen." She paused for a second, trying to think. "Do you remember.a week or two before you left.when someone wrote those things on the school wall?" she asked slowly. He thought for a second, and nodded.
"Yea."
"I told Professor Xavier that you and I wrote the stuff about banning the students.but that we weren't even around when the other thing was written." John slightly widened his eyes. "He said that he couldn't punish you because you weren't here, but I got a two day detention for it."
"That's why your have a week of detention, John. Three days for fighting, two days for the vandalism." John lowered his head, and then looked up at them.
"Alright." he said, and stood up. "Can I go?" Xavier nodded. He walked out of the room, leaving Lily behind, slightly confused. She stood, and ran after him.
"John?" she asked. He turned his head slightly to see her run up, but didn't stop. John turned his attention back to walking, and basically ignored her. She ran in front of him, and grabbed his arm.
"John, are you mad at me?"
"Of course I am. You said you'd never tell."
"I never thought you'd get mad at me because I let him know that we wrote it in the middle of the night. We were tired, John, and we were mad. He understands that. Otherwise, you'd be sitting in detention for about a month, as well. I'm sorry." she said. He shook his head.
"You told me that you wouldn't tell them we did it because you'd be burying yourself, and you wouldn't ever do that."
"Yes, but you left me here alone, so I hadn't any choice. I didn't want this to be laying on my shoulders anymore, especially since it was just me. You know how I am about having to deal with shit like this alone.I can't do it. I mean, come on, I wanted to have a nervous breakdown not long after you took off." He looked at her.
"Why?"
"You left, and a week later, my father died. I was dealing with that for nearly a year. Every day I'd pray you'd come back, so I wouldn't be alone anymore. I had to listen to my mom's cries over the phone, and her yelling at my little brother when he giggled about something funny he heard on the radio, or on the TV. She didn't want anyone to be happy if she was upset. And she managed to get it to work for me. I hated you so much when you left because you didn't have to grieve over your dead father, do homework, go to detention, and help out the little students who are new here. I hated you so much, but I wish I could have hated you more than I loved you." Her hands flew up to her face, and she placed her palms against her eyes. "I just wish you'd have come back sooner." she muttered. She looked up at him. "I'm sorry if you're mad at me for telling him.but I had to get something off my chest." she said, slowly, stumbling over what words she wanted. She lowered her head again, and sighed. John reached out, lifting her chin. As Lily looked up, John leaned over and pressed his lips against her, knocking her back into the wall.
"Yeah. It's me, Lily.." She placed her hands over her mouth, in a gasp. A smile spread across her face as she ran across the kitchen, and threw her arms around him.
"John? Oh, God, you came back!" she cried. He put his arms around her waist, spinning her around.
"Yea, course I came back. Couldn't just leave you here." She jumped down, pushing him back.
"Well, obviously you could, or you wouldn't have left in the first place," she said, knitting her eyebrows together. He shook his head.
"Couldn't leave you here forever, Lily. It just took a me a while to get back." She shook her head, and threw her arms around him again.
"God, I missed you.I missed you so much." she whispered, closing her eyes, pressing her cheek against his. He pulled back, and kissed her, quickly.
"Ditto."
"Are you here.to stay?" she asked, unsure. He hesitated, and she lowered her head.
"Yeah, I'm here to stay. I'm not planning on leavin' anytime soon, anyway." She giggled, and took his hand.
"Come on.let's walk." She hooked her arm thru his, retaking his hand in hers, and smiled.
"It's good to see you again, Lily.especially since I didn't see you the day I left."
"I know.Because I got shot with one of those.taser things." she said, motioning to her neck.
"Kinda worried me, when I didn't know where you were, and Bobby told me you got taken away by Stryker's guys." She nodded.
"Worried me when I woke up and didn't know where you were.but felt you were gone." He leaned down, kissing her forehead, as they headed outside. "Does Xavier know you're here?" He shrugged.
"Probably. He can read minds, remember?" he asked. "Come on.let's get some lunch." Giggling, Lily and John walked out of the gates, and headed into town, to meet up with Bobby, Rogue, David, and Jubilee.
She covered her mouth, turning away from John, as she sneezed.
"Bless you." he muttered. She nodded, and swiped her hand against her leg.
"Thanks." Glancing in the window of the restaurant they were walking by, she tugged his arm, and looked up. "In here." she said, nodding. He tugged his hat down, and adjusted his sunglasses so they covered a good portion of his face. She couldn't even really tell it was him at the moment. They walked inside, and she waved to Rogue.
"Hey, Lily! I thought you weren't feeling good."
"Got better. Mind if we join you?" she asked, looking up at John for a second.
"Uh.no.not at all." Bobby said, pointing to the seats across from them. Jubilee and David slid around the curved booth, letting them in on the end. John sat on the outside, across from Bobby, and dropped his hands against the table. He pointed. "And.who's this?" he asked. Lily looked up, eyes wide with innocence and slight confusion, and looked over at John.
"Oh! Sorry.This is my friend." She reached up, smiling at him, and pulled the hat off his head and the glasses off his face. "John." Bobby jerked his head back in surprise, Rogue and Jubilee gasped, and David just raised an eyebrow.
"When did you get back?" Bobby asked.
"About an hour ago." Bobby reached up, scratching his head.
"Why did you come back?" David suddenly asked. John and Lily turned, to see if he was serious. He wasn't smiling, but was slightly frowning. John put his arm around Lily's shoulders.
"Because of Lily. Is that alright?" he asked, with a tone in his voice like he was calling David out.
"John, please. Don't fight. You just came back, I don't want you to fight." He shrugged.
"Well, its not as if he has his lighter to help him. Otherwise he'd be flicking that thing around." John reached into his pocket, and pulled out his silver shark lighter.
"Happy now that I took it out?" he asked, nearly slamming it on the table by Lily's plate. She flinched, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Please, don't fight." she said softly. He raised his hand in the air.
"I'm not fighting. If he wants to fight, fine, he can fight with himself." John stood up. "Great to see you guys again, come on Lily, let's go." She shook her head, standing up.
"Alright.sorry, guys," she said, looking back.
"It's alright," Rogue said, and watched them walk outside, John stepping back to snatch his lighter from the table.
Lily jammed her hands into her pockets, and walked back to the school with John, silent. They entered the gates, and stopped. John looked down at her.
"Look, I'm sorry, Lily, but David has always been a dick," he said. Lily sighed, and stuck out her hand. "What?" he asked.
"Give me your lighter."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you to do anything stupid," she said. He dug around in his pocket for a minute, and yanked it out, dropping it into her palm.
"I can't believe he's back," a voice said. Lily looked up, and turned, dropping the lighter into her pocket. Ami and Jen had walked to the gate, not noticing John and Lily, to talk to Bobby, David, Rogue, and Jubilee. They turned their heads, and gave a little wink at Lily. She turned away.
"I hate Ami." Lily muttered. John lifted her head.
"Why?" She looked up.
"Because she hates you.and the fact that I love you so much. She's just a bitch." John shook his head.
"Don't fight, Lily," he said, mockingly. She glared at him.
"This is different. I haven't been gone for three years. I've had to hear it every day since you left. Don't tell me not to fight." He smiled, leaned down, and kissed her.
"I love it when you're angry," he said. She giggled, and hooked her arm thru his. The small group by the gate had already gone inside, so they headed in. David walked back out, though, and nodded towards the two.
"Hey!"
"Shit." Lily muttered.
"What, David?" John asked.
"Just thought I'd tell you and your little bitchy girlfriend that Xavier wants to see you," he said, and started to turn way.
"What did you just say?" John asked. Lily lowered her arms, jaw dropped, surprised.
"You heard me. Your dumbass, bitchy girlfriend and you have to go see Xavier." John nodded, looking calm.
"That's what I thought." He paused for only a second, then swung his arm back, and slammed it, hard, into David's jaw. David stumbled back, surprised, but threw a punch right back at John. They began to fight, and Lily stepped back.
"Guys, stop it!" They continued to swing their fists, and John finally hit David hard enough to land him on the ground. He dropped down, and started beating him up again. "John, stop!" He didn't hear her. He kept fighting. She felt the tears on her cheeks as she continued to cry out, praying he'd stop. But he didn't. He kept fighting. She kept crying. Finally she turned, placing her hands against her face, and ran inside, not wanting to see it anymore.
She walked down the hall, and opened the door, peeking inside.
"Professor?"
"Come on in, Lily." She stepped in, and closed the door behind her.
"David said you wanted to see me."
"And John.why did he start fighting?" Xavier asked, turning around.
"David called me a dumbass bitch." Xavier nodded.
"That will not stand.." The door opened, and the two bruised boys stumbled inside, with Logan behind them.
"Thought you'd wanna handle this," he said, nodding to Lily and Xavier, and walked out. The guys walked over, and sat down, in front of Xavier, as though they knew what was coming.
"Why were you fighting when you knew you'd get in trouble?" he asked, looking at them. David jerked his thumb towards John.
"He started it."
"And finished it," he said, cracking his knuckles. Xavier shook his head.
"Logan finished it, John, don't get so full of yourself. David, you get a month of detention for calling Lily a name and fighting with John. John, you get a week detention for starting the fight. David, you may go." David stood up, rubbing his arm, and walked out the door. Lily sat down, and didn't look at John.
"What was it you needed to see us about?" she asked. He crossed his hands on his desk, and cleared his throat.
"It was more like what I needed to speak to John about.but I thought that, since you, too, were involved, I should bring you here." She lowered her head, knowing what he was talking about.
"Oh.that," she muttered. Xavier nodded, but John just kind of looked over at her, slightly confused.
"What's going on?" he asked. Xavier met Lily's eyes over the desk.
Do you want to tell him, Lily? Or would you rather I did? he thought to her.
I think.I should tell him. If he gets mad, it would be at me, not you.this may be best. Xavier nodded, and Lily pushed her chair over a bit, closer to John's, and took his hands.
"Uh, John.listen." She paused for a second, trying to think. "Do you remember.a week or two before you left.when someone wrote those things on the school wall?" she asked slowly. He thought for a second, and nodded.
"Yea."
"I told Professor Xavier that you and I wrote the stuff about banning the students.but that we weren't even around when the other thing was written." John slightly widened his eyes. "He said that he couldn't punish you because you weren't here, but I got a two day detention for it."
"That's why your have a week of detention, John. Three days for fighting, two days for the vandalism." John lowered his head, and then looked up at them.
"Alright." he said, and stood up. "Can I go?" Xavier nodded. He walked out of the room, leaving Lily behind, slightly confused. She stood, and ran after him.
"John?" she asked. He turned his head slightly to see her run up, but didn't stop. John turned his attention back to walking, and basically ignored her. She ran in front of him, and grabbed his arm.
"John, are you mad at me?"
"Of course I am. You said you'd never tell."
"I never thought you'd get mad at me because I let him know that we wrote it in the middle of the night. We were tired, John, and we were mad. He understands that. Otherwise, you'd be sitting in detention for about a month, as well. I'm sorry." she said. He shook his head.
"You told me that you wouldn't tell them we did it because you'd be burying yourself, and you wouldn't ever do that."
"Yes, but you left me here alone, so I hadn't any choice. I didn't want this to be laying on my shoulders anymore, especially since it was just me. You know how I am about having to deal with shit like this alone.I can't do it. I mean, come on, I wanted to have a nervous breakdown not long after you took off." He looked at her.
"Why?"
"You left, and a week later, my father died. I was dealing with that for nearly a year. Every day I'd pray you'd come back, so I wouldn't be alone anymore. I had to listen to my mom's cries over the phone, and her yelling at my little brother when he giggled about something funny he heard on the radio, or on the TV. She didn't want anyone to be happy if she was upset. And she managed to get it to work for me. I hated you so much when you left because you didn't have to grieve over your dead father, do homework, go to detention, and help out the little students who are new here. I hated you so much, but I wish I could have hated you more than I loved you." Her hands flew up to her face, and she placed her palms against her eyes. "I just wish you'd have come back sooner." she muttered. She looked up at him. "I'm sorry if you're mad at me for telling him.but I had to get something off my chest." she said, slowly, stumbling over what words she wanted. She lowered her head again, and sighed. John reached out, lifting her chin. As Lily looked up, John leaned over and pressed his lips against her, knocking her back into the wall.