*-*-* Weeping Willow *-*-*
*-* Chapter Four *-*
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
~ Mother Theresa
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
In the morning, they set off again. The brimstone smell wasn't bothering Willow like it had been the previous day. They stopped twice to eat, and a few times to let Kurt sleep. The further they went, the more tired Kurt seemed to become. He tried not to show it by fighting off sleep. He was still determined to get her to New York. By the end of the day, they were just outside of New York. They stopped in a park where they would stay for the night. Upon appearing, Kurt collapsed in a dead faint and almost knocked Willow over. She held him up for a second, then carefully set him on the ground where he lay spread eagle, completely asleep. She wished he would stop straining for her. Trying so hard couldn't possibly be good for him. Even though she felt sorry for Kurt, she was also becoming very excited. Tomorrow could very well be the day that she found the school. No more sleeping outside, no more running, no more being scared.
By the time they reached Carmel, (a city in Putnam, the county directly above Westchester) Kurt had to take a break every time he teleported.
"I'm sorry," he said, his eyes only half open as he sat down with a thump on the ground. His breathing had been hard all that day.
"We need to stop for today," said Willow firmly.
"No," said Kurt. "Ve're so close...I can't fail you now."
"You look terrible. I won't let you," she said. He took a deep breath and frowned slightly. He picked up her bag and thrust it at her. She caught it with both hands and he leaned forward and put his arms around her. The ally way was gone. For ten minutes they teleported. Ten solid minutes of building roofs, trees, parks, bridges, and over passes. When they reappeared for more than a second, Kurt fell over, completely exhausted. They were in a small patch of trees near a road.
"Look, Kurt, if you don't stop you'll kill yourself!" cried Willow. She hated how intent he was on helping her.
"I promised zat I'd get you to ze school," Kurt panted. Sweat hung on his forehead in beads.
"Here, I've got a phone number, I'm sure they'll come get us," Willow said, digging around in her pack.
"Not me," Kurt said. "Ven zey come, I'll go."
"You'll never make it back to Boston like that," Willow told him. "Please come with me."
"Sank you for caring so much, but I don't vant to be a burden. I could probably make it if I rested for a few days and vent back by myself," Kurt said. He was falling asleep again. "Don't vorry, Weide...," he said quietly, his eyes closing.
"You need real sleep. Like in a bed with sheets and pillows. I'm going to find a pay phone," said Willow. She got up from Kurt's side and made her way out of the trees. She looked around for a second. There was a bank across the street on the corner of an intersection. Outside was an ATM machine and a phone. She waited until there was a break in the steady stream of cars and ran across the road. She picked up the receiver and put in thirty cents. She looked at the number on the side of the map and dialed slowly. Her heart began beating faster once it rang on the other end.
"Professor Xavier's School for the Gifted," answered a woman's voice.
"Er...hi, my name's Willow, and me and my friend have been trying to get to your school, but he's ill, and I don't know where to find it, and I can't leave him here," she babbled quickly.
"Do you know where you are? Can you see any street signs?" asked the woman.
"Um...," she said as she looked around. "I'm at the intersection of twelfth and ninety-second."
"That's not far at all," she said kindly. "I'll send someone to pick you up."
"Okay. Tell them I have green hair. That's how they'll know it's me," said Willow, an excited edge to her voice.
"Alright. I'll probably see you soon," said the woman.
"Bye, and thank you so much!" cried Willow. They disconnected. Willow was glad that they weren't far away because the clouds over head looked about ready to downpour on them. She got back to the bushes but found that Kurt was no longer there. Her heart skipped a beat. He had taken the pen out of her bag and wrote shakily on one of the word find book's pages 'Auf wiedersehen. Viel glük.' She had no idea what that meant, but felt horrible. Now he was somewhere probably dying because of her. She didn't even get to thank him.
"Kurt!" she shouted, hoping she could get him to come back if he was anywhere nearby. Passerby looked at her oddly. "Kurt!" she shouted again, but she knew he was gone. This must be how friendships are, she thought sadly. She took up her things and sat out on the curb, waiting for the school people to find her. She felt hot tears well up in her eyes. She missed Kurt already. He was such a good person. Quit being such a baby, Willow. You should know by now that people never stay, she thought to herself angrily. Large drops of cold rain began to pummel her. Soon, her clothes had soaked all the way through, and she was beginning to shiver. Long, soaking chunks of green hair stuck to her shoulders and face. She could see her breath in front of her face.
After nearly a half an hour of waiting, a car pulled up to the curb. She looked up at the driver. He had a handsome face and was wearing a pair of red tinted sunglasses. He smiled at her and got out.
"Willow?" he asked.
"Uh huh," she said as she got to her feet.
"I'm Scott Summers from the school...Jean said you had a friend with you?" he asked slowly.
"He left," said Willow sadly. "He helped me get here, but he didn't want to come to the school to rest...he can teleport, and he wore himself out getting me here."
"Do you have any idea where he might be?" asked Scott.
"Not a clue. He could be miles away by now," said Willow.
"I'm sure he'll be alright," said Scott. "Come on, you look like you could use a shower and some new clothes." Willow's face lit up. A shower! New clothes! She thought in excitement. She nodded happily, but an uncomfortable knot was growing in her stomach. Why didn't he stay? She wondered sadly. Scott opened the passenger side door for her and she got in. He hopped into the driver's side and started up the car. "How long have you been traveling?"
"Um...," mumbled Willow counting on her fingers. "I think almost three weeks."
"Wow. From where?" he asked.
"Seattle," said Willow.
"That's quite a journey," said Scott as they pulled away from the curb. Willow nodded.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I think I'm getting your seat wet," Willow said, shifting her weight beneath the seat belt.
"Don't worry about it," said Scott. He looked a little reluctant to let her sit there on his nice leather seats dripping wet like she was, but he didn't take any action to stop it. It began to rain harder against the windshield. Willow wondered where Kurt was and if he was all right.
They drove through the cold rain and the failing light for around a half an hour. She watched out the window, trying to memorize all the turns, but she lost track after a while. Willow looked up every street in search of a school building, but she was surprised when Scott pulled into a long driveway outside a mansion with castle-like features. It was covered with ivy, and it was enormous. She could see warm, yellow lights in most of the windows, and she even stole a few glimpses of kids inside. She couldn't help but smile openly.
She and Scott got out of the car and hurried to the front door. He opened the door and a blast of warm, sweet smelling air spilled out. This was it. After weeks of struggling, she'd finally accomplished her goal. Willow felt like laughing with joy. The interior practically screamed 'home.' It was warm and cozy and she actually felt like she was supposed to be there. She'd never felt like this except for when she was at home with her mother. She was happy to know she could feel that way again.
"Come on. I want you to meet someone," said Scott. He led her through some hallways and corridors. The walls were white and decorated by paintings and other decorations. Willow could actually hear other kids talking and laughing with each other. Scott stopped in front a particular door and opened it. He let Willow walk in before him and found herself in an office furnished with mostly oak. There was a man sitting behind the desk in a wheelchair. He was an older man, perhaps in his sixties, but his eyes were bright and full of wisdom. He was well dressed, in a suit and tie, and had no hair.
"Scott," he said upon their entry. Then he looked at Willow and smiled. "And you must be Willow." She nodded vigorously with a smile. "I'm Professor Xavier, the creator of this school. Have a seat," he said, waving his hand towards a chair in front of him. He nodded at Scott who exited the room.
"I'm sort of wet, I don't want to mess up your chair," Willow stammered.
"It's alright," he said. Willow reluctantly sat down. "Where do you come to us from?" he asked.
"Seattle," Willow answered.
"Hmm, that's quite a ways," said Xavier, nodding slowly. "Will you lean forward a bit?" he asked. She did this slowly, not knowing what he was up to. "Try to relax. I won't hurt you," he said as he put his hands on either side of her head. A second later, she felt as if someone were digging through her thoughts and memories. She felt a little sleepy. Then it stopped and the Professor sat upright.
"What did you just do?" asked Willow curiously.
"I've just read your mind. I find that it's easier for me than interviewing people," he said.
"Then you know about...about my trip here," said Willow.
"Yes. I'm terribly sorry that you had to go through what you did. No child should be subjected to such a horrible situation," said Xavier gravely. Willow could tell that he really was sorry. "Now, from what I gathered, you still need some language and math classes. Is that right?"
"Yes," Willow agreed. "I still need to take geometry and...well, I wanted to take German, but I'll take whatever's available."
"German won't be a problem," said Xavier. Willow grinned. "And neither will Geometry. These are the minimum high school requirements, are the not?"
"They are," Willow said.
"Is there anything else you want to take? Art, music? Literature?" asked Xavier kindly.
"All of them," said Willow nodding happily. "As many as I can."
"Alright," Xavier said with a chuckle. "I won't load you down, but I can give you those five classes for now. The new quarter began yesterday, so you picked a good time to arrive. You can start classes tomorrow if you'd like."
"Yes, of course!" cried Willow. "As soon as possible!" Xavier was amused by her eager, upbeat attitude.
"Alright. So let me see," he said taking a pen and pad of paper out of one of the desk drawers. There are four classes everyday, normally, but some of the students choose to take five or six of them. I have room in my fourth period Geometry class, so that's a start. Jean teaches Art and Music first and second period, so that's covered. We have some excellent online foreign language classes, so German shouldn't be a problem for third. Now, you said you also wanted Literature?"
"Yes," Willow said eagerly.
"Alright, then fifth period you'll have Storm for Literature," said Xavier, jotting the last of it down. He ripped off the paper and handed it to her. "Now, as for a dorm room for you...How old are you?"
"Eighteen," Willow said.
"Alright, you're one of the oldest ones. There's a room with four other girls that we could squeeze you in with. There's an extra bed in there, I think. If not, I'll have one set up for you. Classes start at 8:30 and usually end at 1:00. But for you, it will be 2:00. Does that sound alright?" asked Xavier.
"It sounds great," said Willow with an almost overwhelmed sigh.
"Because there are so many students, there isn't a set time for meals or a place where we all eat at once, so when you get hungry, feel free to help yourself in the kitchen," Xavier said.
"Okay," Willow said, memorizing every bit of information given to her.
"There's one more thing I'd like to ask you, and that is what is your mutation? I gathered that you can grow plants, but to what extent?" asked Xavier.
"Er...well, I dunno. I can grow just about anything I can see in my mind. I can make it do whatever I want, and a lot of times the plants are a lot bigger than their natural equivalent unless I concentrate really hard...I dunno what else to say about it," Willow stammered.
"Is that all?" asked Xavier.
"Um...well, this one time when I was getting beat up I did some stuff that I didn't even know I could do. It was almost like I was all of a sudden super flexible and strong...that was in sixth grade, I think, so I'm not sure if I can do it anymore," Willow said.
"I would be happy to help you develop your powers and learn to control them, if you'd like," the Professor said.
"Sure, that'd be great," Willow said.
"Alright. Evenings at five sound okay?" asked Xavier.
"Whatever works for you," Willow said with a shrug.
"Excellent. I'll have Scott show you to your room," Xavier said.
"Um...I don't...er...," she stuttered.
"You don't have any clothes," Xavier finished for her.
"Yeah," Willow said, her pale cheeks turning pink.
"I'll have Storm take you shopping tomorrow after classes," Xavier told her.
"Thank you so much. You don't know how much this all means to me...I've never been welcomed to a school before," Willow said shakily. "I haven't actually stayed at a school before, either."
"This isn't an ordinary school," Xavier pointed out, his eyes twinkling slightly. Scott came into the room a moment later and Xavier gestured for Willow to go with him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Willow."
"Thanks again!" Willow said before she and Scott left the room. He led her up a flight of carpeted stairs and down a hallway. Willow could hear blaring metal guitars in one of the rooms they were approaching. Scott opened the door and the sound spilled out into the hallway. Three girls and two boys looked up when he entered. A girl with short, nearly white hair grabbed the radio that was sitting on the nearest bed out of five and turned the volume down low.
"This is Willow, she's your new room mate. She's had a rough time, and I expect all of you to make her feel welcome," Willow stepped inside and smiled at all the curious faces. The girl with the radio cocked an eyebrow at her. Scott turned to leave but stopped and looked back in at the girl with the radio. "I don't want to hear about anything less than kind from you, Jack, and I mean it."
"Sure," she said. Scott left Willow in the room. They all just stared at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds.
"Wanna play Devil May Cry?" asked the blue-eyed boy on the floor with a Play Station 2 controller in his hand.
"Er...maybe I'll just watch," said Willow.
"You looked soaked to the bone," said the girl sitting next to him. She had auburn hair and pure white bangs.
"I was out in the rain for a while. The weather's kinda nasty today," Willow said with a nod.
"Why don't Ah get you some sweats to hang out in? That'll be more comfortable, doncha think?" she asked.
"Would you?" asked Willow happily.
"Sure," said the girl. She got up from the floor and walked over to the dresser that was next to the TV stand. "Well come're!" she said to Willow, who was still standing in the doorway.
"Oh!" said Willow, jumping a little. She hurried over to the dresser.
"By the way, Ah'm Rogue. That's Jack, short for Jackie" she said, pointing to the white haired girl on the bed.
"Hey," said Jackie shortly.
"That's Jubilee," said Rogue pointing to an Asian girl on the edge of the bed near Jack. She was covered with bracelets and earrings and had her hair done up in a messy ponytail.
"Hi," said Jubilee.
"That's mah boyfriend, Bobby, and that's John," she said pointing to the boy with the controller and the kid next to him with slicked back brown hair. He was fiddling around with a Zippo lighter with a shark's face painted on it. Bobby smiled and nodded to Willow, and John raised his hand in an unenthusiastic greeting. Rogue dug in her drawer and fished out a black pair of sweats and a tank top. "Are these alright?"
"D'you got anything with longer sleeves?" asked Willow nervously, not wanting to show her arms very much.
"Not right now, it's all gettin' washed," said Rogue.
"Okay," said Willow. She wasn't thrilled to let them all see the skin on her arms. "You got a bathroom in here?"
"Right over there," said Rogue, pointing to a small hallway in front of the third bed over.
"Could I maybe take a shower?" asked Willow.
"Of course," said Rogue. She seemed shocked that Willow even had to ask.
"Thanks," said Willow. She took the sweat pants and tank top with her into the bathroom. She shut the door and locked it. She looked at herself in the mirror and was embarrassed at how disheveled she looked. She stripped down to bare skin and turned the water on. She spent a few minutes messing with the temperature, then got in. She closed the curtain and sighed, enjoying the feeling of warmth on her cold skin. Her long, poofy green hair stuck to her back in a mat. She spent a while getting it all wet, then went for the shampoo and conditioner. She seriously considered cutting a great deal of her hair off. It was a lot of work and it got in the way a lot. She squirted some body wash into her palm and scrubbed away three weeks of dirt and grease. She did this twice for good measure. She washed her face most of all, though, scrubbing it with her hands until she felt numb. Finally, after almost an hour of lathering and scrubbing and rinsing, Willow was sure that she was completely clean.
She turned off the water and wrung out her hair. She opened the curtain and stepped onto the bathmat. There was a folded up towel on the toilet tank, which she seized eagerly. She dried off, loving how soft the fabric felt. She got dressed in Rogue's clothes and wiped the moist condensation from the mirror. She picked up a random brush and began sorting out the tangles in her hair. When she was done, she opened up the mirror cabinet. She found some hair ties, which she used to tie her wet hair into two tight buns on either side of her head. Willow looked through the piles of stuff in the cabinet and also found a toothbrush that was still wrapped. She didn't care whose toothbrush it was. She took it, unwrapped it, and brushed her teeth until her gums felt like they were about to bleed. She rinsed her mouth out and looked at herself in the mirror. She felt like a whole new person. Her face looked brighter and happier than when she had looked in the mirror at the hospital. She also felt better about the person staring back at her than she did when she last saw it. The shower and the comfortable pajamas made her feel like she had finally passed a major milestone in her life. She sighed and smiled at herself before turning out the light and heading back into the room.
"For the last fucking time, no!" John was saying as Willow entered the room. "I'm not risking you shorting out my Play Station."
"I won't!" Jack cried. "Just let me play!"
"Hmm, wasn't it you that blacked out Las Vegas over a video game?" asked John sarcastically.
"Hey, cut me a break, I had a rough day," Jackie said in defense. "And anyways, it wasn't the whole city, I'm not that powerful."
"But you could destroy my Play Station, that's the point," John said stubbornly.
"Quit being such a dick," Jackie said dangerously.
"You'll fucking short it out!" cried John.
"I'll short you out if you don't fork over that controller!" Jackie growled.
"Let her play, John," said Bobby. John rolled his eyes and gave Jackie the controller.
"If you destroy my console, I'll make you buy me a new one," John warned Jackie.
"Yeah, yeah," Jackie muttered as she began playing. Willow came over and sat down on the edge of the bed next to the one that Jackie and Jubilee were on.
"Feel better?" asked Jubilee.
"Much. And thanks to whoever the hair ties belong to," said Willow.
"Those're mine. You can use them, I don't care," said Jubilee. "It's too damn quiet in here! Turn your radio on, Jackie-girl."
"Not now, I'm busy," muttered Jackie in a video game trance.
"I swear to God, you're so inconsiderate," said Jubilee, reaching over and grabbing the radio. She turned it on and cranked up the volume. Willow watched Jackie play Devil May Cry and listened to the blaring rock music. They hadn't even given her arms a second glance. For once in her life, Willow really did feel like a teenager. And a human.
After a while, Bobby and John left for their own dorm room. John took the Play Station with him, so they were stuck with watching TV Jackie turned off her radio and put in on the floor so she could stretch out on the bed. Rogue still sat on the floor, but now she was flipping channels.
"Why don't you just pick something?" asked Jackie in an annoyed tone of voice.
"There's nothin' good on," Rogue muttered. Finally she got fed up and turned the TV off. Jackie sighed.
"No video games, no TV," she said. Jackie turned to look at Willow. "I think it's time for an interrogation." She sat up on the bed again. "So what do you do?"
"I can grow plants," said Willow.
"Like flowers and shit?" asked Jackie with a grin.
"Uh huh," Willow said with a nod.
"Hence the green arms?" asked Jubilee.
"Yep," Willow said nodding.
"So where are you from?" asked Jubilee.
"Seattle, Washington," Willow answered.
"How'd you get here?" she asked.
"By Greyhound bus most of the way. Then I missed my stop and ended up in Boston. I met this guy in a church, and he helped me get here," said Willow. Talking about Kurt only made her worry more about him. She wished she knew where he was.
"Was this guy cute by any chance?" asked Jubilee with an interested grin.
"Er...well I dunno...I don't know if he's cute," she said slowly. "He was really nice, though. I miss him a lot." An awkward silence followed in which they all looked thoughtful.
"Food?" asked Jackie, dramatically changing the subject on purpose.
"Yeah," the girls muttered, getting up and filing out of the room. Willow brought up the rear and followed them down the stairs and eventually, into the kitchen.
"Hey, guys," said a girl with a brown ponytail who was passing through the kitchen.
"Hey, Kitty," they said out of unison. Kitty gasped when she saw Willow.
"We've got a new girl?" she asked in an excited voice.
"Yeah, this is Willow. She just got here like two hours ago," said Jubilee. "She's in our room."
"Hi," said Kitty. She was probably two years younger than Willow. "I'm Kitty Pryde."
"Willowtree Stevens," Willow returned.
"Well it's good meeting you, Willowtree Stevens," said Kitty.
"I just go by Willow, though," Willow told her.
"Alright. Well, I stayed up late last night, so I'm goin' to bed. Don't make a bunch of noise when you come up to the room, 'kay?"
"You ruin everything, Kitty," Jackie joked. Kitty stuck her tongue at them before leaving the kitchen. Willow stood back and watched her new roommates dig through the cupbords in search of sustenance. Jackie brought out a box of Lucky Charms.
"You want some'a these?" she asked Willow. "They're magically delicious," she said in a voice that was meant to tempt her into eating.
"Yeah, okay," said Willow with a grin. Jackie got down two bowls and poured herself some cereal. She handed the box to Willow and went into the refrigerator to get the milk. Everyone else ended up having Lucky Charms too.
"So when're you and Bobby gonna go out on a real date?" asked Jubilee.
"Ah dunno," said Rogue, poking her cereal with her spoon. "Ah'm sorta waitin' fer him to ask me."
"Go for it, it's not like he's gonna say no," Jackie pointed out.
"Ah know...Ah just gotta wait for the right time," said Rogue.
"And what about you?" asked Jubilee with a grin, nudging Jackie painfully jabbing her in the ribs with her elbow. "Huh? What about you, Jackie-girl?"
"Cut it out," mumbled Jackie into her cereal.
"Leave her alone," said Rogue. She looked up at Willow. "Are you always this quiet?"
"It depends. Right now I'm just sort of listening," said Willow. She sighed and smiled. "This is the first time I've ever really hung out with anyone my age. Most of my life has been spent at home. My mom home schooled me since sixth grade."
"That's sad!" cried Jubilee.
"Is your mom back in Seattle?" asked Rogue.
"She's gone," said Willow looking down into her half-eaten cereal. "A couple weeks ago. This is actually one of the only times I've been able to talk about her without crying. We were very close."
"Ah'm sorry," said Rogue. The kitchen was pretty quiet from then on. They finished up their meal and put the dishes in the sink. They all trooped back upstairs and tried to be quiet for Kitty, who was fast asleep in the middle bed. They shut the door as quietly as they could and got into their pajamas.
"That one on the end can be yours," said Rouge referring to the bed on the end of the row. Willow became excited. A real bed! With sheets! She thought. She climbed under the blankets and sighed with a smile when her head sunk into the pillow. The first time in weeks that she'd slept warm in a real bed. Jackie turned her radio on so that they could barely hear it.
"I hope you don't mind the music. It helps me sleep," said Jackie quietly as to not disturb Kitty as she slept.
"No problem," said Willow. Jubilee, who's bed was closest to the light switch, turned out the lights.
"G'night, Willow," whispered Rogue.
"'Night," Willow said quietly.
"Welcome to Mutant High," said Jack.
"Thank you," Willow said before turning over and falling straight to sleep.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*
I know this chapter was a little heavy on the swearing. It doesn't get much worse than that. Well, carry on :o)
