Formed Addiction
Chapter 8 – Breathing a Lie
"It's strange how this papers got here in the very right moment…" Summer took off her light coat as she and John entered the hotel room.
"Yeah." The young man went to stand near the window, clicking his lighter.
"Ok…" Then she suddenly turned from her position at the bathroom door and in matter of second crossed the gap between them. "Tell me you have nothing to do with it."
John looked her in the eye, his grayish brown pools boring into her sky blue ones. He was about to lie, he wanted to so much because her eyes begged for him to. And he did.
"I have nothing to do with it."
She smiled, sensing the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders. But they say that there has to be a balance. When one is born, the other has to die. When one is married, the other has to divorce. And when one feels the weight lifted off the shoulders, the other suffers it's weight on their own.
"You have to get some rest."
Summer nodded and made her way to their bed. She sat heavily on the snow-white sheets, than lifted legs from the floor and she was fast asleep the next moment when her head hit the pillow. She knew John would wake her up at night when it was time for the battle.
John slowly came up to the bed and slide down to sit near it, looking at her beautiful face turned towards him. She was so amazing… Not only stunningly beautiful but smart, kind, loving. A real sweet person that she was. Everything he wasn't…
He stood up a bit and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. The ritual of theirs he was glad they had…
"I hate it when you do it! I know you need space and all but can you, please, tell me next time you'd be gone for two days or so?" Summer yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Sure, dear." John waved her off.
"Don't…" She warned him dangerously.
The tension was high. Suddenly a flame from a small candle flew up to the ceiling and set the nearest curtain on fire. Summer glanced at the direction of the burning part of the room, eyes piercing blue, and the flame stopped creeping along the walls. Pyro waved a hand and the fire died at all.
"Nice, really nice." Summer chuckled with a sarcastic look on her face.
She turned to live but John grabbed her by the arm and neared her form to his taller and stronger body.
"I'm sorry." He said, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
"Why do you always hope that sorry would be enough for everything…" But she did hug him in return.
He smiled a true smile. Even though John wasn't that angry, mad at the world then he used to for he now had the amount of happiness he couldn't even hope for but a genuine smile was rarely seen on his face.
"Promise me one thing…" Summer looked up from his chest to his face.
"Anything."
"I want you to kiss me on a cheek every night when we go to sleep. And it shouldn't matter if we're in a fight or anything…"
"Sure." The corners of his mouth raised, expressing amusement with her words. "Why would you ask something like that?"
"Because that's how I know you'll still love me tomorrow."
John knew that it wasn't an evening yet but a burning sensation in his heart, as if his own so much loved and adored fire was blazing him, was telling him that everything would be different the next day, and he wasn't sure if it was for better or worse…
"I don't have the money, Derek." Ororo said, sitting down in a big armchair in the guestroom her husband was recently residing.
"That's not so comforting." He replied, smirk firmly across his handsome features.
"I know…" Storm lowered her head in defeat.
Derek turned from the wardrobe he was searching something in and was about to articulate another mocking remark when he saw her tired, worn out face with exhausted eyes.
"What's wrong with you, Ro?" He came up and sat on a chair in front of the woman he was in love with a long time ago.
"Nothing." She lied.
He nodded, understanding that it wasn't true, but didn't push the subject any further.
"Why did you marry me?" Storm asked suddenly, sliding her shoos off and putting her legs under her form.
Derek looked at the African-American bewildered but then, finally finding his speaking abilities, responded:
"I fell in love."
This time it was Ororo who looked and felt puzzled:
"Wh…? I thought you just had to marry to be able to get the money…the once that were in you father's will…"
"You're right. I had to marry in order to get them. But didn't you ever give a thought to why I stopped talking to my mother?"
The weather witch shook her head 'no'.
"She wanted my wife to be one of her friend's daughters but that time I was already close to be head over heels…"
Ororo smiled at the revelation:
"Really?"
"Yeah." The man with the emerald eyes put a hand on her knee to reassure His wife of the answer.
"We're going on a battle tonight." She finally said after a long moment.
Derek raised an eyebrow as if to ask with whom but the last second decided against it.
"You're gonner be ok?" That was what he asked.
"I don't know…" And she put her own hand atop his larger one. "I don't know…"
"Ah…" Rogue was going down the stairs when she felt half her body grow weak.
"You ok?" She heard Warren's voice but it sounded from far far away.
"I…" Marie started but then her throat went numb as well and she couldn't pronounce anything.
"Rogue?" This time Angel sounded much more worried. "Rogue?"
The eyes of a young woman rolled up and she would have fallen down the stairs (and broken one or two bones) if not for Warren's strong arms that took a firm grip of her waist.
"Ahhhh!" A young girl, the one who saw Summer being brought in only hours before, screamed from the other end of the hall.
"Call Hank!" Angel yelled, picking the convulsing woman up in his arms.
As the girl ran out to get Beast, Warren took it down to the lab. All through the way he couldn't help but wonder when all the troubles will stop following them. By them he didn't mean all the mutants but himself and his friends in particular.