X-Men-First Class: Rise or Fall
Chapter Thirteen
Author's Word: Here's the newest part. I hope everyone enjoys it and as always, please read and review!
It had begun the moment he awoke that morning. Well, more like the moment he opened his bedroom door. That's where he found the paper greeting. Now, between his cousins and younger brother, Sean had been given his fair share of handmade cards. This card, however, was entirely different. First of all, it had been designed on an enormous piece of poster board. Second, Sean had never seen anything quite so sparkly in his entire life. His name had been spelled out with bright silver glitter with everything from suns to airplanes all over it. A purple ribbon had been glued on that just screamed Becky while various stickers spoke Joey. The other dead giveaway that the two had been the ones to leave it to him was the messages scrawled out from each of them on the very bottom.
Have a Happy Happy Happy Birthday, Sean!, followed by a series of hearts then Becky's name written in very nice cursive.
I hope you have the best birthday ever, Seanie came from Joey, as well as a cute drawing of an enormous cake.
Bending the card ever so carefully in the middle, Sean propped it up on top of his dresser. His family's cards, which had arrived two days prior, looked quite small in comparison but the cash from Mom and Dad had more than made up for that part.
Sean whistled cheerfully as he went downstairs. The absolute quiet of the foyer disturbed him for a moment. Before he got a chance to go in search of the others, he fell flat to his back as a blonde blur tackled him. Sean tried to get up but could only move his head, as Hank and Alex had his arms pinned down while Frank and Joey trapped his long legs. Before he could comprehend the situation, Raven and Becky joined in on the full-fledged group ambush.
"Have you people lost it?" Sean wanted to know, somewhat fearing for his life at this point.
"Happy birthday!" they all exclaimed in unison.
"Thanks," the Irish boy replied, genuinely touched for a moment. "Now, could you all get off me?"
"No can do," Raven said with a grin.
"We're attached, buddy," Frank tacked on.
Seeing Erik passing through, Sean called out, "Erik, help! Call 'em off."
Appearing thoughtful for a second, Erik walked over to the gathering of children and took hold of Sean by the sneakers. With a yank, he started to pull him free from the cluster but did not stop dragging him.
"Hey!" Sean protested with a laugh.
The others got up and followed.
"Honestly, Erik," Charles reacted when his friend entered the dining room with a squirming Sean in tow. "Is that any way to treat the birthday boy?"
"Oof!" Sean cried when Erik dropped his feet. He leapt up and ran over to Charles. "They're all crazy."
Then he noticed the stack of waffles that had been placed in front of his regular chair, including a mountain of whipped cream and sliced strawberries to top it off. Suddenly, he decided the roughhousing had not been so bad.
"Thanks a lot for the card, you guys," Sean said to Becky and Joey when they all sat down to eat.
"Did you really like it?" Joey asked eagerly.
"It was cool," Sean answered. "I really appreciate it."
"I put the bow on," Becky told him.
"Somehow I figured that wasn't Joey."
"Sixteen at last," Alex stated, giving Sean a good-natured slap to the back. "How's it feel?"
"I'm not sure," Sean replied honestly. He stretched his neck out. "Do I look taller?"
"You're already a skyscraper," Frank commented.
"Cuter," Raven tossed out. "Definitely cuter and I think your hair got redder."
Sean blushed slightly at that and Alex said, "It matches his face."
"Do you think you're any wiser?" Hank asked.
"Do we have a test today?" Sean wanted to know. Hank shook his head. "Then yeah. So much wiser."
"Sean," Charles spoke, "now that you are sixteen, I thought we'd commemorate it in a very special way."
Alex guessed, "You're getting him a hooker?"
Frank nearly snorted his juice through his nose while Becky and Joey looked on quizzically.
"Alex, open," Erik instructed. When Alex opened his mouth, Erik popped a grape inside. "Now, close."
"What I meant actually,' Charles said, getting back on subject, "is that I thought you and I could take a drive down to the DMV."
Sean's eyes widened. "You're going to take me to get my driver's license? Really?"
"Really," the Professor confirmed.
"Oh, yes!" Sean shot his fist up triumphantly.
"That is so cool," Frank said. "Man, I can't wait to be sixteen."
"Hey," Raven protested. "You made me wait until I was seventeen to get my license."
"That's because you couldn't be still at thirteen, fourteen, fifteen," Charles recalled.
Once classes ended for the day, Sean made a mad dash for the garage but was surprised to find both Charles and Erik near the BMW.
"You're coming?" Sean said to Erik.
Erik glanced at him from underneath his sunglasses. "If you don't mind."
Sean shook his head, hoping the question had not come off as rude. "No, of course not."
"Splendid," Charles stated in his usual pleasant way. "Off we go then."
IIIIIII
"Do you think he passed?" Raven asked as Hank handed her another piece of blue streamer.
"We'll just have to wait and see," Hank told her. He looked over at the sounds of giggling and smiled at Becky and Joey, who currently played in the pile of colorful balloons they had blown up.
"Frank, move it up," Alex directed.
Frank struggled with his end of the banner. "I still say it needs to come down on your side."
"Hey, I'm in charge of this," Alex reminded him.
"I'm in charge of this," Frank mimicked lowly.
"Al, how late do you get to stay up when you're sixteen?" Joey asked, going over to the teen.
"Pretty late, Joe," Alex told him, letting off a groan as his end of the banner wrinkled yet again. "Double digit time and everything."
"Wow," Joey whispered in awe.
They all stopped what they were doing when the front entrance burst open.
"I did it!" Shawn yelled on a volume closer resembling the Banshee he personified. "I passed!" He waved his new license around victoriously.
"All right, Seanie!" Frank cheered. He and Alex jumped down from their stepstools and headed over.
"Let me see." Alex got a good look at the photo and laughed. "You look like a complete geek."
"You sure that's not a mirror you're looking at?" Raven asked Alex slyly.
"Congratulations, Sean," Hank said, giving his hand a shake. "You must be really proud."
"And he's not the only one," Charles added, entering with Erik. The two of them had stood no chance at keeping up with the incredibly enthusiastic teenager.
"Job well done," Erik concurred.
Coming down off of his excitement high, Sean gazed about at the numerous decorations, mainly the 'Happy Birthday, Sean!' banner. "Did you guys do all of this for me?"
"No, we did it for the other Sean," Alex joked. "Of course it's for you."
Joey came over and attached a green balloon to the redhead's pant leg after adding a little static electricity to the rubber object. Sean smiled widely.
With Sean having pick for dinner, it came as no surprise when a variety of pizzas were delivered. The kids had managed to coax Charles into allowing them to eat in the living room but the telepath made sure to emphasize the importance of napkins. Erik, Alex, and Hank lined up on the sofa. Charles offered Sean his favorite chair but the guest of honor opted to sit on the floor between Frank and Becky. Raven chose the floor as well, leaning her back against the loveseat with Joey close to her side.
"Here's an idea," the shape-shifter threw out.
"Raven, we already did the code names thing, okay?" Alex quipped.
Raven scowled at him half-heartedly. "No, dingus boy, I meant about Sean. We should go around and say our favorite times with him. I mean, why wait until a funeral to remember someone when birthdays are more fun?" Most of them nodded their heads, believing this to be valid reasoning. "I'll go first. My favorite was when he tried to show me how to make Irish oatmeal and we ended up eating off of it for a week."
"You didn't follow the recipe," Sean said to his defense. "It was supposed to be cups, not pounds."
"Hey, I got one," Alex chimed in next. "That time we locked Hank in his lab and he didn't notice for five hours."
"Oh yes," Hank recalled at their laughter. "The best part of that was having to climb out of the window. That was almost as funny as when Sean was on laundry duty and mixed your clothes with Becca's."
"That was not funny," Alex said darkly, jabbing a finger out at the chorus of laughs that followed.
"What, you looked good in pink," Sean commented humorously.
"You're lucky it's your birthday," Alex told him, not at all seriously.
Becky spoke next. "I remember when we first got here. Sean kept doing things to try to make me laugh but it never worked. Then one day he was helping bring the groceries in and he slipped and dropped an entire bag and oranges fell out and went everywhere like bombs. Then I couldn't stop laughing for the entire day."
"As long as I got a smile out of you," Sean said kindly.
Raven gave Joey a fond squeeze. "Okay,hon, what about you? What's the best time you ever had with Seanie?"
Joey looked shy at the attention on him before a memory hit him. "When it was raining one time and Seanie took all those blankets and made the indoor fort. We had fun."
"Fort Thunder," Sean remembered. "Yeah, that was great."
Raven smiled. "What about you, Frankie?"
"Come back to me," Frank dismissed. "I have to think of one I can say in front of Charles and Erik." Laughter sounded again at that while the adults shook their heads in amusement. "Why don't you say yours, Erik?"
Without a moment's hesitation, the metal wielder looked at Sean and replied, "Flinging you off the satellite dish."
Sean rolled his eyes playfully. "I bet my screams of mortal terror were the best part."
"Actually," Erik informed him, "the best part was watching you soar at last and the thrill it brought you. Part of me never wanted to see you touch the ground again."
Sean glanced at him, having never heard these feelings before.
"I don't have to think hard on mine, either," Charles said. "Watching you at the aquarium that day and your less than successful attempts at getting that young lady's attention. If only she'd known she was in the presence of a most extraordinary individual with limitless potential."
When Sean turned his head, Alex punched his arm lightly. "Dude, you better not cry."
Sean retaliated by poking the blonde hard in the middle of his chest. "I'm not."
"Well," Charles moved on, "after all this pizza I don't suppose anyone has room left for cake…"
At the numerous youthful protests, the Professor stood and gathered everyone towards the kitchen.
Frank looked over his shoulder to see Sean not following. "Hey, aren't you coming?"
"Yeah," Sean said a little absently. "I'll be there a minute."
Frank watched him leave out through the front way before deciding to follow. "What's the matter? Aren't you having a good birthday?"
"The best," Sean answered, taking a seat on the front steps. "This has been the most amazing day ever. It's just… I can't stop thinking about home."
Completely understanding, Frank stooped down and sat near him. "You miss your family, don't you?"
"Yeah," Sean said in a whisper. "I never imagined I'd be spending my sixteenth birthday away from all of them. I still remember how every year Tommy would run in, pounce on my bed while I was asleep, and scream "Happy Birthday" right in my face. It used to drive me nuts but I've been missing it all day."
Frank nodded then stayed quiet before speaking. "I wasn't totally honest back there. I know my favorite time with you." Sean looked at him. "It was the day after I got here and I was scared and felt so out of place. Then we went up to your room and talked for hours like we'd known each other forever. Then I knew I really belonged here."
Sean appeared surprised by this new information. "Really?"
The younger boy nodded again. "I know I bug you sometimes but I'm really glad I met you. And I know I'm not Tommy but you're more like my brother than either of the two I have back home."
Not quite sure how to respond to the unexpected sentiment, Sean put an arm around Frank and pulled him in closely. The pre-teen cracked almost as many bad jokes as Alex and kept up just as many walls. Once in a while, though, Sean remembered why he had taken such a strong liking to the New York City native.
"Are you guys okay?" The boys looked up and saw Raven standing in the foyer, gazing out at them.
"We're fine, Rae," Frank replied, pulling back from Sean a bit.
Satisfied, she said, "Good, because the candles are lit and I believe I saw a present pile on the kitchen table."
Sean smiled and got up with Frank, heading inside.
IIIIIII
Charles and Sean walked together though the lower level of the mansion. After the group of mutants had all gotten their fill of cake and ice cream, Erik supervised the cleanup to make sure it did not turn into a 'cake in the face' contest between the now hyper young people.
"Did you have a nice birthday?" Charles asked.
"An incredible birthday," Sean told him. "Thanks for everything, Charles."
Charles waved an indifferent hand. "Think nothing of it." When they made it to the garage, the telepath led the way over to the BMW. "It amazes me how well you handled yourself on the road."
"It amazed me that I got my license," Sean said. He rested a hand on the hood of the car. "And that I got to be seen in the driver's seat of one of these."
"Well, it's something you'll have to get used to from here on out." At the redhead's confused expression, Charles chose that moment to hold up what he had been concealing during their walk. A car key dangled from his fingers. "It's yours now, Sean."
Sean had to lean against the car in question to keep from falling over. "Wh-what? You're giving me a car? No, you're giving me the BMW?"
"You are correct, sir," Charles replied.
"Charles, you… you cannot just give me a car."
"Of course I can," the older man countered. "It's my house. I'll do as I please, including giving you this vehicle."
"Charles, this is way too much," the flabbergasted Sean insisted.
"Nonsense. This is a rite of passage for a sixteen-year-old boy. You're responsible and perform excellently in school. You have more than earned this. And it's not just you. For Hank's next birthday he'll receive the Lincoln. It seems to be his and Raven's favorite form of transport for dates."
Shaking his head in disbelief, Sean had trouble absorbing this. "Charles—"
"Sean," the Professor cut in sharply, "if you try to refuse this car so much as one more time, I'll be giving you a birthday spanking you'll feel going into age seventeen."
Smiling at the mock threat, Sean accepted the key at last. "Just to save my butt." He enveloped the man in a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Charles."
Charles patted his back with a great sense of pride. "Happy Birthday."
IIIIIII
Frank awoke to an adamant pounding at his door. He hopped out of bed to see who the enthusiastic visitor was but found nothing on the other side of the door but a piece of paper attached to the knob. He took it and read the message.
Meet me out front –Sean
Throwing clothes on in a hurry, Frank rushed downstairs and right out the front door. He found Charles' BMW out there. Confused, he walked down the steps and glanced into the vehicle from where the windows had been rolled down.
"Sean?" he realized. "What are you doing?"
"Want to go for a ride?" Sean asked.
"Charles said you could use his car?"
"Yeah, mainly because it's my car now. He gave it to me last night."
Frank's mouth dropped open at the news. "Are you serious?"
"Yep," Sean said. "We're going this afternoon to get the title changed. Now, hop in. Let's go for a quick ride."
"You want to go with me?" Frank surmised incredulously.
"Who else?" Sean returned, patting the passenger seat.
Frank grinned and got into the car.
After they were both buckled, Sean started up the BMW and took off with a destination for adventure or at least a fast zip around the neighborhood before they had to be in class.