AN: Hey, I'm back again with the next installment! I must say that I don't own X-men. Yet I do own Angel Arden andAunt Maggie. As well, my friends' characters are introduced: Jared, Celia and Brad. Now to the story... Enjoy.

Chapter 7

The Arrival

Voices mingled with each other among the crowd of people, lingering around the train station. There was people reuniting and those saying goodbye. Angel stood in the middle of the crowd, just watching them as they passed by. The grey skies cast over ahead, hiding the sun behind its thick clouds as soft winds blew and whipped around the girl's long hair. She yawned, still tired from waking up at five in the morning to get a ride here with her aunt. The loud speakers came on, a muffled voice echoed through the station, "Train six, now boarding."

"That's you," Aunt Maggie said.

Turning around, Angel faced Maggie with a blank face and eyes plainly looking at her. Maggie had gone to pay for Angel's ticket and returned to her to hand Angel the ticket. "Well, I guess you better get going. You don't want to miss it."

Angel lowered her head, strands of hair falling in front of her face as she bent down to grab her bag. She turned, walking away a few feet to make it to her train but she stopped in her tracks. Looking back at Aunt Maggie, she ran back to her. Wrapping her arms around Maggie, she said her farewell. She hated goodbyes but she felt she had to do this for her aunt for final reassurance that things would be okay. Finally, Angel let go and headed back to her bag without looking back. She couldn't take a second glance, feeling it would kill her will to move on and only provoke the desire to stay. This was it. She had to take this big leap of faith.

Her fingers gripped a tight hold on her bag as she climbed the steps to the train, entering it. Checking her ticket, she searched for her seat. E9. Angel walked through the aisle, reaching the assigned seat and sat down. She hoped she'd be lucky and have no one possess the seat next to hers. The blonde haired girl placed her bag down on the floor, at her feet. She leaned back in her seat, closed her eyes for a brief moment then opened them.

"All aboard!" Someone yelled. It was the final call for all passengers.

The girl looked out her window, noticing her aunt standing there just watching the train. Angel placed a hand on the window, longing to reach out and touch Maggie. She wished for this to be some horrible dream that she would eventually wake up from but the trained started to go into motion. Aunt Maggie seemed to be more out of reach by the second. The cold glass numbed her fingers and she flinched at the sensation. Removing her hand from the glass, she lost focus of Aunt Maggie and stared at her own reflection that looked back at her in the clear glass. She sighed. No tears fell. Sure, she was sad leaving her aunt but she had cried for Melody for the longest time. She was dried out. Recovering still, the images of the day still played out in her mind. Repeating and repeating, the thoughts were only a hurtful reminder of what she did and what she was. Her whole heart ached.

Crossing her arms, she sat back in her seat. She wore a large, baggy coat. It was the only source that was hiding her large angelic wings. It was dreadfully uncomfortable but she tried to remind herself that it would only be an hour long trip until she reached her destination.

Around her neck sparkled her crystal sculpted angel. It twinkled in the little light that was touching it. The small piece of jewellery somewhat gave her some comfort. The figure glowed a soft cloudy grey light for only a brief moment. Angel narrowed her eyes. It disappeared. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her. She disregarded it and bent down, retrieved her CD player and headphones. Placing the head gear on, she pressed play and turned the volume on high. Engulfed by the music, it drowned out the sounds of the passengers and the train. She felt separate from them, as if she was in her own little world, safe. Resting her head back, she closed her eyes. Darkness filled her mind as she drifted off to sleep.

Running, running… Echoed footsteps, walking on the pavement. Angel came into view. She was the one running. There, stood Melody in front of her. The girl didn't speak, just simply smiled back at her. Then from the darkness appeared her parents. Angel spoke, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't save you! But they only stared at her, not speaking a word. Voices filled her mind. Her parents' voices echoed. Keep strong. Remember you are special, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. We love you… Then Angel heard her own voice play out in the echoes. Don't leave me here all alone…

She fell to her knees, placing her hands flat on the ground. Something wet touched them. She lifted them up, looking from one to the other. They were covered up in blood. I killed her! Her own statement had replayed in her mind. I'm a murderer! The thick blood dripped down from her fingers. Looking to the silent figures of Melody and her parents. She watched them as they were cast in the shadows that swallowed them whole. Goodbye Angel...

Angel woke up with a start, her heart pounding in her chest. It pleaded to be rip out from it. She caught her breath.

"Miss? Are you okay?" The ticket handler asked, looking down at her concerned. She could barely make out the words from the music that blared into her ears. Angel removed her headphones from her ears, resting them around her neck. He asked her again, "Are you okay?"

Okay? She thought. No one was just okay. It was just a question people just asked to be polite and then move on their way to get on with life. If you told them the right answer, they'd just go away. Angel nodded in response. "Yeah. I'm fine." He smiled then asked for her ticket in order to punch a hole through it, returned it to her then continued on with his duties down the aisle.

The girl looked over to the seats across the aisle from her. An older man, grey just peeking through his brown hair, stared back at her. He was typing on a laptop. The sound of the clicks on the keyboard played in the air. Angel looked away. She stashed her CD player back in her bag and slumped back in her chair, embarrassed that someone was there when she had woken up.

She felt warm in her coat with her wings just stuffed in it, fully hidden. It was starting to get warm and very uncomfortable. Wishing she could just open it up for the world to see and just cool off. But she came this far, she wasn't going to blow it now. Disregarding the thought, Angel looked out her window and watched the scenery pass her by. There were fields of grass and then deserted roads. Green. Grey. Green. Grey. The colours appearing then disappearing like some magic show act. Slowly, buildings were in sight. The clickey-clack of the train started to soften to a droning purr as the train pulled up into the new station.

The conductor came on the speaker. "Last stop. New York," he announced. Once the train came to a full stop, the passengers filed out of the door. Angel picked up her bag and carried it on her shoulder. Exiting the train, the satisfying feeling of finally arriving and leaving the confined space washed over her.

Angel walked among the other passengers in a sea of warm human bodies. She was pushed and shoved as people scurried on their way. The girl slowly navigated her way through them, finally breaking free. Walking away, she wished that someone were here to greet her. But there was no one. She was on her own to get to the Institute. Even though there was many people walking pass her, she still felt alone. She wandered. She was merely someone in unknown territory.

Clouds dispersed and revealed the golden sun in it's kingdom, the skies. Light poured onto the streets. Finally, Angel realised she had no idea where she was going and remembered Aunt Maggie wrote down the address and placed a map in her bag. So she slid off her bag from her shoulder and searched through it. In one of the pockets, she found both informative parchments. Looking at the address, it read:

XAVIER'S SCHOOL FOR GIFTED YOUNGSTERS

1407 GEAYMALKIN LANE, SALEM CENTER

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK

Angel smirked at the words Gifted Youngsters. Well, that's one way to put it… She thought. Then, looking at the map, she saw that her aunt highlighted the way. You'd think she have more faith in me in finding this place. But I guess any adult would fuss over their kid. The girl followed the directions carefully, making her way down the sidewalk.

After a fifteen minute walk, she spotted a large mansion down the road in her field of vision. Angel placed the directions back in her bag, seeing that they were unneeded now. This was it. Her heartbeat jumped in excitement. Closing in on where she was headed for, the wonder and questions of what it would be like living in such an exquisite residence with people like her filled her up inside. Slowly, she stepped up in front of the black iron gates and placed each hand on a bar, looking in.

Lush green grass covered the grounds as a gravel path cut through it, leading up to the doorway. Perfect blue skies were over head.

From a distance, a roaring engine echoed down the street. A taxi came into view as it drove up to the Xavier institute, parking on the side of the road. Angel turned to see who was arriving. The taxi's door slammed shut with a loud click as a young man, no older than seventeen years of age, stepped out. With his bag at his side, he walked up to the gates. Angel watched him closely.

"Hey…" She said softly. She thought she'd introduce herself, "I'm Angel Arden." She touched her coat, making sure that her wings weren't in sight. She was too paranoid that she'd get laughed at, at how ironic she looked with wings and her first name. Attempting to hide the fear of being ridiculed, she etched a small smile on her face. The boy turned to face her, his short, loose brown hair was a bit tousled. Strands of hair hung across his forehead, just skimming his green eyes.

"'Ello," he greeted in a distinctive and clear British accent. He held out a hand. Angel took it and they shook hands. "The name's Jared St. James." A charming smile played on his lips.

Just then, the gates opened as if they had been waiting for the two all along. Walking in together, Angel and Jared headed up the path to the mansion. It seemed to only get bigger as they got closer. Excitement and fear was present within Angel, she clutched the strap of her bag.

"So did you just arrive or have you been here awhile?" Angel asked, wondering.

"Just arrived and yourself?" He replied, just as curious.

"Same," She paused, "So I guess, we're n the same boat." Somewhat, she felt relieved. She didn't feel totally alone in experiencing her first day here, now.

Reaching the door, it was Jared who rung the doorbell. In no time, the door swung open and the two were welcomed by a grinning boy. "Hey! I'm Bobby Drake. You must be the new students we've been waiting for. Come on in."

Stepping inside, Angel's eyes went wide as she glanced at how extravagant the mansion looked from inside. Bobby motioned for a young man who was walking by to come over. "This is Bradley. He'll be you're roommate, Jared." Bobby looked over at Brad, "You mind showing him the room?"

"No problem," Brad replied. "Follow me," Brad told Jared.

"See you around," Angel called out.

Jared turned his head, acknowledging her. "You too." Then the two boys left from sight.

"Now, it's your turn," Bobby stated.

Angel fidgeted with her bag. Strolling by, was a girl dressed in jeans and a grey sweater. A white strand of hair lingered in the mass of brown that she had.

"Hey Rogue," Bobby caught her attention. "Have you seen Celia around?"

"No. Haven't seen her."

"Well, you mind bringing Angel, here, to her room."

"Sure," she smirked. "Come along, suggah."

Angel followed obediently up the staircase and down the narrow hallway. On the walls, paintings were nailing up and the casual student passed them by. Dark brown coloured floors shined beneath their feet. Rogue lead the way until she reached the door she was searching for.

"Here we are," Rogue told her. "Feel free to just look around and unpack. I'll go find Celia so you can meet her."

Angel nodded. "Thanks." She pushed open the door and entered. A sweet aroma filled the air. In the room were two beds, Angel placed her bag on one of them. The girl sat, leaned back and let her head fall on the pillow. She wondered what her roommate was like. "Hmm… It's not so bad…" She guessed that anything would be better than back home, just hiding away in her room all day. Then again, she wasn't quite sure if things would be different here. Angel was unsure what to expect from the people who lived under this roof once she revealed her true appearance.

"Hey there!" A cheery voice came from the door. Angel looked up. There, in the doorway, a head peeked in. A girl close to Angel's age entered the room. She had very dark hair, only under a small ray of light did a little red appeared for a brief moment in her flowing, long curls, which just dangled passed her shoulders. But it was the girl's icy blue eyes that were highly emphasised. It reminded Angel of the clear blue skies that were present when she had arrived. The red head jumped on her own bed and took a seat with her legs crossed. "So you're Angel, right?" Angel sat up and nodded. "I'm Celia. As you might as guessed, I'll be your roomy." She paused, "you can take that coat off if you want."

"No! I'm fine," Angel jumped, probably a little too rash.

"Alright. That's okay," Celia replied quickly, realising she hit a nerve. "So may I ask what you do?"

"What?" Angel asked, unsure of what the girl was implying.

"Um. I meant what power do you have?" Celia merely reworded the question.

"Oh. Well, I'm not quite comfortable in talking about it." Angel was feeling a little uneasy.

"Well, that's fine. You can tell me when you are ready. As for me, I have the ability to absorb another mutants' powers." She brushed a hand through her hair, playing with a single curl.

Angel thought it was probably impolite not to make conversation. However, she felt very shy in being in an unknown place. I wonder what Aunt Maggie is doing at this very moment…She brushed the thought away. Angel stood without a word and had her back to Celia. Beginning to unpack, she started to take all contains out of her bag and placed them on her new bed.

"You can put your clothes in that dresser, if you want. It's yours," Celia pointed out.

"Okay," Angel said softly.

"Also, we are lucky enough to have a baloney connected to this room," The red haired girl smiled, she'd let Angel explore things on her own for now.

Angel stared down at her bag. From her wrist, a colourful bracelet fell around her hand. Her eyes shifted over to look at it. She froze.

It had on only been a week since it happened. Angel had tried to only block it out, trying to forget it all. But it was funny how one thing could change everything. Melody's scream and words flooded through her thoughts. The girl seemed to choke on the remembrance of her dead friend. Angel raced to the balcony doors and walked onto the balcony. Breathe In. Out. In. Out. Gripping at the railing, she inhaled the crisp, chilled air. In the distance, all the trees were covered in coloured décor, the leaves in vibrant reds, orange and golds. Peaceful. Though it would seem. Angel pulled off the bracelet and stuffed it in one of her pockets. She wasn't trying to disregard Melody's whole existence but rather shut that day out of her mind for awhile. It was too much to allow it to all come at once. All Angel needed was to take one step at a time.

Celia took Angel on a tour to let her get familiar where everything was. They headed into the kitchen. "Usually everything is all stocked up," Celia explained. "We have nearly anything."

Angel walked around then looked back at Celia. "Oh god. I'm don't think I'll be able to remember all this. I'm so going to get lost in here."

Celia scratched her head and made a half smile on her face. "I remember when I first arrived here. I accidentally walked into a danger room session and nearly lost a finger."

Angel blinked. "Oh, that makes me feel so much better," She said sarcastically.

Celia laughed. "I'm sure you'll be okay." She turned to glance at the clock. "Ahh! We have to get to class. C'mon!" The red head raced out of the kitchen as Angel followed closely behind her. They ran through the halls. Passing them was an older young man with surreal eyewear. "You know the rules, Celia! No running in the halls!"

Celia stuck her tongue out at him. "We have no time for the rules, Scoot!" Angel smirked at Celia's reaction.

Eventually, both Angel and Celia made it to their classroom and stopped running at the door. At the same time, Bradley was leading Jared to the same class.

"Ha! You're late!" Celia shot at Brad.

He rose a brow. "So are you."

The red head shrugged. Brad and Celia walked inside the classroom. As for Angel and Jared, they went through at the exact time and jammed together. They stepped back out.

"Oops. Sorry," Angel said.

"After you," Jared offered.

"Thanks," Angel gave a small but simple smile of appreciation and stepped in, followed by Jared. The students took their seats and chatter arose in the class, the teacher hadn't arrived yet.

"Psst, Psst... Hey, new girl." A voice called out. Angel turned her head in the direction of the voice. "What do you have under that baggy coat of yours?" Angel stayed silent and crossed her arms, making sure nothing was peeking out from it.

The boy spoke again. "You got some skin condition? Or scales, maybe?" One of the boy's friends laughed.

"She must be one hell of a freak if she can't even look at herself," his friend responded. By now, Angel was looking at her desktop. She didn't have the will to argue. Let them think what they want…

"Hey! She's mute too!"

Celia turned in her seat. "Shut-up already. We're not all grotesque like you, Jordan."

The other students snickered, laughed and giggled at Celia's comment as the boy's face turned red.

Angel looked over at Celia, a hint of a smile seeped through her blank face, looking to Celia in gratitude. She was grateful that she was on her side.

The teacher finally arrived. "Good afternoon class."

"Good afternoon, Ms. Grey." The class echoed back.

She gave an approving nod and placed her books on her desk. "Now," Jean looked up, "as you might have heard, we have two new students with us. Angel Arden and Jared St. James." She scanned the room. "I hope you all make them feel welcomed and be helpful through their first week here." Jean grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote page fifty-two. "Alright then. Well, let's begin. Open your books."

Daylight came to an end. The hallways were silent. Most of the students were in their rooms. Celia laid on her bed and Angel on hers.

"Lights out?" Celia asked.

"Sure," came the reply.

Celia shut off the light. Meanwhile, Angel still had her large coat on. She thought to herself, thinking what Aunt Maggie would say if she saw her. Angel got under her blankets and looked up at the ceiling. Slowly, she removed the coat and tossed it to the floor. She would be sleeping in her clothes tonight. Her wings touched the soft blankets, relieved to have escaped from the uncomfortable coat. Inhaling, she knew she was taking a small step forward.

"Celia?" Angel said, hoping that her roommate was still awake.

"Yeah?"

"Remember that question you asked me earlier? Well, my mutant powers are healing others or causing pain a little pain to bringing someone to the point of death by physical contact." She said this slightly seriously but calmly. "Also, the reason why I was wearing that coat today was that," She paused, "I was hiding my wings… Anyway, I'm sorry if I was so hesitant to tell you."

"That's okay." It was quiet; no one spoke for a couple minutes until Celia spoke again. "Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for telling me."

Then at that, they slowly fell asleep.

Everything looked just like a black and white movie as the scenery passed by slowly. Limbs of trees swayed in the soft breeze. On the gravelled floor red footprints appeared, leading to a motionless body in the middle of the road. The body's face was covered by wet, matted hair. A hand reached out to move the strands away. The face was white like freshly fallen snow. The eyes were closed but it was easily determined that it was Melody's dead body. Up ahead, red flashing lights were visible in the distance. Yet it was not fear for the approaching police cars but the outline of someone leaning against a tree several feet away from the scene. From the shape of the being, it was clear that it was a young woman. Her piercing blue eyes stared back as her short brown hair shaped her face. She merely watched. She saw you…She knows what you did. It's all your fault. Murderer. Fault. You did it. She saw you…

Angel jointed up, waking up from her nightmare. She was breathing hard and lying to herself that it was all a dream. But it wasn't. It was all true. The Death. The on-coming police cars. And yes, someone was there that day who witnessed Angel murder Melody and saw that Angel was in fact a mutant.

Angel looked over at Celia, sleeping. She sighed, thankful she didn't wake her up. She fell back, her head landing on her pillow and closed her eyes. The girl felt scared that someone out there knew what she was but most of all, for what she had done.