A/N: It's me again! Here with another chapter update. And you'll hate me by the end of it, I think. But maybe not. I give you a taste – just a taste of something. Ooh! And I've been in a writing mood lately, so maybe I'll come back to this faster?! Here's hoping. Enjoy! Or not. :D

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Scarlet looked up into black eyes, breathing heavily. She flashed her teeth at Logan and dug her nails into his skin, holding him in place. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and they were joined, his hips moving against hers in a primal dance that made her head spin. She moaned lowly as he changed the force of his thrusts and Scarlet felt her body skyrocketing towards the breaking point.

Wake up, you dumb bitch!

Scarlet opened her eyes and released her bottom lip from her teeth. A gasp passed through her lips as her body came down from its high and clued her in on the pain that she was feeling. She felt her eyes water and tried to keep the tears back, but she felt a couple slide down each side of her face.

Perfect, she thought, flexing her fingers and feeling the tightness in them fade. I'm crying. I revealed my weakness to John and half the school. Great, great, great. Fuck him. Fuck all that bullshit. So why am I still crying?

"Because you're in pain, Maria," Jean's voice said from nearby. "Your body was subjected to a great deal and it's already fighting you because you're evolving into something new. A normal person would cry over less. Let yourself cry."

"Red, I'd rather not," Scarlet grumbled, frowning. "Crying gets you nowhere."

"Well, not always."

Scarlet turned her eyes to Jean, wondering what she meant and also half not caring. Jean offered her a small smile and Scarlet wished she had the energy to flip her off. But her body was useless at this point.

"Anyway, am I taking a nap down here or do I get to be transported somehow to my room where I will be pounced on by three very excitable girls around my age?" Scarlet asked, wiggling her toes and looking up at the ceiling. "Because I am so looking forward to that."

Jean frowned. "Well, there is another option."

"And?"

Scarlet heard movement on her other side and saw Logan leaning against the wall. He waved two fingers at her and held her gaze. Images of her dream came flooding back to her mind and she felt heat hit her face. And it fucking hurt.

"Oh," Scarlet mumbled. "You want to condone a student sleeping in a teacher's bed, Red? Not very legal of you."

"Oh shut the fuck up, Maria," Logan said, rolling his eyes. "Ain't like I'm going to try anything funny with you. And just so you know, Red supports whatever the hell is going on between us."

Scarlet looked at Jean, who shrugged with a little smile and put her hands in the pockets of her white doctor's jacket. Her eyes narrowed at the redhead and she wished that she could flip her off again. She lifted a finger. "You're on my shit list, Red. Just so you know."

"I'm sure a lot of people are on that list, but that doesn't matter. You need undisturbed rest and we all know that no one bothers Logan when he's in his room. So off to there you go." She smiled. "You even get to go in style."

Just like that, Scarlet sat up and let out a moan. "Don't tell me he's carrying me to his room! Because I will meld myself with this table for fuck's sake if you think that's what's going to happen."

"And I bet that hurt, darling," Logan commented.

"It didn't fucking tickle," Scarlet snapped. "And drop the 'darling'. I ain't anyone's darling."

"We're not having him carry you to his room," Jean assured Scarlet. "You're going in a wheelchair."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "So stylish…but it's fine, whatever. Just…just get me to wherever I'm going and let's be done with this. The sooner I sleep, the sooner I can get back to living my life."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Logan pushed Scarlet through the halls of the mansion. It was late. The kids were supposed to be sleeping by now because of Scott's strict curfew, but he could hear them giggling behind closed doors. Scarlet was silent, her arms wrapped around herself, and stared straight ahead in the darkness. If he looked down at her, he could make out the red glow coming from her eyes.

"You're going to give me the silent treatment, aren't you?" Logan asked, pushing her forward.

"Well, I would if I knew it worked on you," Scarlet grumbled, sounding annoyed. "But you're just going to bother me, so the fuck am I supposed to do?" She sagged in the seat of the wheelchair. "I can't believe I have to do this."

"No one says you have to do it," Logan reminded her. "It was just suggested for if you wanted to get some sleep. I can just as easily turn you over to the teenage girls you room with, or even better. Fishtail."

Scarlet turned her head. "You are an asshole. There is no fucking way that I am going to let Aqua get her hands on me and try to coddle me like some overbearing, protective, sorry ass older sister." She flashed a canine at him. "Don't ever threaten me with that. I still remember you and her bringing me here."

Logan smirked. "Then play nice, darling."

"I'm sorry. Nice doesn't come with this chick. You get bitch and less bitchy." Scarlet waved a hand. "Remember, I lose more friends than I make for a reason."

"Because you like pushing people away."

"For a damn good reason."

"You don't have to push every goddamn person away, Maria."

"Says who?"

"Everyone." Logan tightened his grip on the handles of the wheelchair. "Me."

Scarlet made a small sound rather like a laugh. "Right. Everyone says I can't push the whole world away." She snapped her fingers. "You know if I find the right mutant, I can probably move this whole planet of course and send it crashing into the sun, don't you? I'll have zero regrets." She sagged more in her seat. "Fucking push the whole entire planet into the sun and be free of all this bull."

Logan pulled hard on the handles of the wheelchair and the chair tipped back. Scarlet glared up at him and he growled.

"You're not going to push the whole planet into the sun and you know it," he growled. "You're too scared to die."

Scarlet's eyes blazed, but Logan saw the hurt hiding in that endless red. She was trying so hard to smother it with her natural fire, but it lived. A constant battle that she wouldn't give up on and make peace with.

"Just get me to your room," Scarlet ground out, looking away from him.

Logan righted the chair and pushed her to his room's door. It opened on its own accord and he pushed her through it. Scarlet engaged the wheel locks and then sat there, looking at the bed. Logan looked down at her, raising his hand to touch her shoulder.

"Please don't," Scarlet whispered. "Don't touch me."

Logan hesitated for just a moment before putting his hand on the back of her neck and gently massaged it.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Scarlet felt Logan's hand on her neck, cooler than her skin felt at the moment. She bowed her head and wrapped her arms tighter around herself. She absolutely refused to look at her skin because she knew it moved with the remnants of fire. Her heart hurt in her chest, but she associated that with all that she had done with Pyro.

"You don't listen very well," Scarlet commented, staring at the bed and seeing ghosts of dreams she'd had, but now the other person had a face.

"Sue me, touch helps heal," Logan said, rubbing her neck in slow circles with his fingers. "The good doctor told me that."

"We have a good doctor?" Scarlet shook her head. "Forget I asked. I don't care. I don't care about anything. Just put me to bed and forget it."

Logan moved around the wheelchair and Scarlet looked pointedly away from him. Why did it hurt so much to look at him? It was like if she looked anywhere but him, then maybe her heart would forget he existed.

Yeah, right. Good luck with that.

"Maria, you care about more things than you care to admit," Logan pointed out and she cursed him for it.

"Nope," Scarlet said, shaking her head.

"You do."

"No."

"If you don't care about anything, look me in the eye."

Scarlet turned her gaze onto him and looked into his eyes. She had to look away after a moment. A curse fell from her lips and she hunched over in the wheelchair.

"That's what I thought," Logan said, crouching down in front of her. "You can't do it."

"Fuck you," Scarlet snapped. "And not in the literal sense."

Logan poked her thigh and she hissed at him. "You care about things – people – and you're scared about that. Because you've been hurt before."

"Logan, I don't want a therapy session."

"Who hurt you in the past, Maria?"

Scarlet growled. "Everyone! Everyone fucking hurts me!" Tears bubbled in her eyes and fell down her cheeks. "Do you know how much it fucking hurts to take in someone's powers and their memories of using it? To become friends with someone your age and then watch as they die because they pushed you too far? Guys I liked? They fucking tried to force themselves on me or completely ignored me and went off with some piece of shit that destroyed them. It's all fun and games to come after the girl that's already been through shit, but does anyone care to think about how much it affects me?"

Scarlet pointed at the door. "Do you realize I could be just like them? One power, multiple friendships? A mostly unscarred past? I want that. I wanted to be able to fall in love, but I gave up on that a long time ago. I can't make friends easily – it's awkward and they ditch me. Watch it happen here again and again. And fuck ever having a happy ending." Scarlet's vision blurred even more. "The outcast daughter of Magneto doesn't get one, no matter how hard she tries."

She pulled her arm back and hugged herself. "Fuck it all."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Logan put his hands on either side of Scarlet's face and looked her in the eye. He had realized as she talked that her holding herself like that was her attempt to keep herself from falling apart. And here she was breaking at the seams.

"Maria, I promise you that no one here wants to hurt you like that," Logan said, holding her gaze as he brushed away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "No idiot boy is going to force himself on you. No one is going to push you any farther than you can go." He offered her a half grin. "And you'll get your damn happy ending."

"Right…" Scarlet sniffed.

"Have I lied to you before?"

Scarlet stared at him and Logan was pulled into her red eyes. He moved slightly and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly. Scarlet responded to him, but almost like she was being cautious about it. Logan put a little more force into the kiss and Scarlet gasped against his lips.

"Can't…" she whispered, her lips a hairsbreadth away from his when they parted for air.

Logan picked her up out of the wheelchair and deposited her on the bed, leaning over her and kissing her again. Scarlet put her hands on him and kissed him back, her body so small under his.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: Did I do that? Um, yes. Yes I did. And here is where I leave you for this chapter update. Bye and thanks. -Scarlet