Formed Addiction
Chapter 3 – Secrets of the Night
"Excuse me?" When the bone in Wolverine's throat finally felt like disappear he tried to speak. "Come again."
"Derek, Ororo's husband." The man said again.
"Ex! Ex-husband!" Storm snapped out of her trance. "In a world's name, what are you doing here?"
"Won't you invite me in?" Derek asked, his lips curving in a small sly smirk.
"Is this the wrong time?" The three of them heard a husky voice from behind and the next moment John showed up from the shadows.
"Always for you." Growled Logan, attempting to close the door.
"So?" The other man at the door asked, still searching for Ororo's eyes in the darkness of the night. It would have been so much easier if they were white like at those times when she gets control over the weather.
"Ok, that's it! John, Summer will come out in a minute, you can wait inside if you want. Logan, touch him and life will get really cold for you. Derek, follow me…we need to talk." Storm turned on her heels and made her way up the stairs, Derek fallowing closely behind.
Wolverine glared at Pyro and let one of the claws on the left arm slide from the inside of his body.
"Arm…tell Summer I'll be in the car." John wasn't afraid of the feral-man, he just didn't wish for any trouble. He knew the girl he was waiting for wouldn't appreciate it if he and Logan started a fight right then and there.
On the second floor, near the room that used to be Professor's and now was Storm's office, Anna and Summer stood, both their backs to the opposite walls for support. Summer clung her fingers together, a feeling of guilt sliced through her. She and Anna were best friends, she still considered the petite blond her best mate but so much has happened. They haven't talked for almost a year…she didn't tell her about their relationships with John, that he was alive for that matter…that she now lived in Australia, thousands miles away… But what Anna said next erased any seed of doubt that was born in her head.
"I was worried about you, you know. You didn't even leave you phone number." Summer was just about to answer but Anna went on. "But then I remembered that it's some kind of a habit of yours to disappear and then show up in some time. Although, I have to say, this time it took you long enough."
"So we're cool?" The brunette looked up from the floor.
"Yeah." Her friend smiled warmly. "Of course, we are."
She crossed the hall and tightly hugged the telepathic.
"Are you ok?" Anna took a step back, her features expressing concern and confusion.
"What do you mean?" Summer inquired.
"Your energy…it just seems different…"
"Different?" Now Summer was confused too. "Different how?"
"Well, I've done some work on my powers. You know, to get a full control of them and things like that. So, there's more to them then I thought. I can also feel the status of the body's energy and…hard to explain…see it, like the color. Everyone has it' own specific color for their energy…"
"Well, that's great! Congratulations are in order, I guess."
"Yeah, but the thing is…your energy level has changed a great deal. And the color as well." From the look on Summer's face Anna realized she had to be a bit clearer. "Basically, you've changed mentally as much as physically."
Summer's blue eyes became water. They've lost any emotion they held before. What could she reply to a statement like that? Who was she supposed to react? Turning her head slightly as if hearing something, she said:
"John's here. Don't want to make him wait. Or, to tell the truth, don't want an encounter between him and Wolverine."
"Sure, see you tomorrow." Anna smiled, a cheerless smile.
The brunette nodded and, without looking back at her friend who stayed on the same spot, looking perplexed, made her way down the stairs only to run into Storm and a familiar-looking man with bright lime-green eyes. She nodded to Ororo but the older woman didn't seem to notice too caught up in her own troubling thoughts.
"What the hell do you want from me? Why are you here?" Ororo said angrily as soon as the door closed behind Derek.
"To be honest, O, I just want my money back. You see, I'm broke. So, can you, please, give me back those seven million dollars you took, anxiously running away from our house." The man sneered, positioning himself in the chair and putting his legs on the table in front of him.
Storm turned pale for an extremely brief moment and it started getting cloudy outside that instant.
The dark metallic cell that was still for the previous part of the night started producing high-pitched sounds. If not for vibrations the whole mansion could be awake by now.
"Talk." Calm quiet voice with southern accent spoke.
"We need to meet. It's important." The voice on the other end of the line was harsh, some would even call it computer-like.
"When?"
"Lunchtime."
"Where?"
"Riverside Park, we need a place no one will ever think to search through."
"Ok." She was thinking of clicking the phone close but then decided to ask the question that was bothering her the most. "You're back?"
"Yes." The hiss that was presumed a whisper by the southern speaker. "And make sure no one fallows you."
The line went still and Rogue put the smart piece of metal back on the bedside table, hand covered in a dark-brown glove. When the young woman's gaze reached her hands she tore it away immediately. She had a plan and she would stick to it…
John was sitting quietly in their hotel room, sometimes stealing a glance or two at the weather outside the window. It was about to rain…the sky was dark so Pyro he figured so…
Summer was doing the same thing but her spot was near the bathroom door. As the memories of the last year came flying into her head in comparison to everything that was happening now, she took a couple steps forward to where John was sitting.
"Have a…" She started and he turned to look at her. "Have I told you that I loved you today?"
Suddenly her eyes filled with tears and, betrayed by her knees, she slid down on the floor. John rushed to her side. He sensed that something like that was about to happen. He knew it wasn't only about her claiming her love for him, it was all the emotions…
He cupped her face with both hands and, caressing her soft flawless cheek with his thumb, touched his lips gently to hers. Summer trembled from his touch, from tenderness and intense of this simple motion. That was his answer. He loved her too. Every day, every minute, every second…
What a shame this all could just fade away…their hopes for one more year of peace could just fade away…