2

"I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't fix it," I snap, storming into the elevator. He had one job- don't cause problems. What does he do? Find a fan, set himself on fire (which scared the ever-loving snot out of me) and proceeded to be a jerk and completely ignore me until I finally walked away without him.

That got his attention.

"I don't see why I can't show people what they want!" He protests, jumping in behind me even though I want him away from me. "Why can't I enjoy having powers?"

"Because some of us really need a job, and having someone do exactly what you said you wouldn't let them do does not help on their first day!" I snap.

He blinks. "It's your first day?"

I shoot him an incredulous look. "Why do you think she introduced me to you and Dr. Richards?"

"She doesn't always tell me first," He keeps frowning at me, and as I lose some of the anger, I want to hide. Especially with him looking at me like that. "How badly do you need this job?"

I huff out an annoyed breath, wishing I hadn't said anything. Or taken the stairs instead. "Don't worry about it."

"What, you lose that anger and you go back to being scared of me?" He takes a big step towards me, and I automatically step back, my back smacking into the rail.

"I'm not scared of you," I say automatically, though I wish he'd give me some space.

"Liar," He moves even closer, so our legs are touching, and he moves his arms so I'm trapped between them. "You've been scared of me since I first saw you."

"Not true."

"Really? Then why wouldn't you look at me?"

I... don't have an answer for that. "I didn't want to look like an idiot."

"An idiot." He deadpans. The elevator doors open, and I look over to see Sue standing there with crossed arms. He looks over and grins at Sue. "Hey, sis,"

He eyes narrow. "I thought you weren't going to do anything stupid?"

"It was my fault," I blurt, shifting slightly, but I know I won't be able to escape under his arm. Yet.

Sue raises an eyebrow.

"It was my fault, not hers," Johnny says. "What are you doing?" He hisses.

I take a chance and duck under his arm, barely managing to free myself and dodging his hand. "I should've tried harder to keep him under control. I'm sorry."

She studies me wordlessly, then looks at Johnny for a long moment. "It's fine," She says finally. "I shouldn't have asked you to do that first thing. You didn't even have time to unpack."

"You're living with us?" Johnny asks, and I glance at him to find him frowning slightly.

"She can't afford a house with her current situation, so yes, she's staying in the spare room." Sue says, losing some of her anger. "We'll deal with this later. Do you need any help?" She asks, looking at me with a slight smile.

I shake my head. "I'll be fine, thank you."

"I'll walk you back. Gentleman and all of that." Johnny says, quickly falling into step beside me. "What does she mean by current situation?" He asks quietly.

"My current situation," I answer dryly. "It's not a big deal,"

"Are you ok?"

I pause, a little off-balance. Johnny Storm is a player. He doesn't care about many things, especially not someone like me. "I'm fine," I say easily. "Thanks for dinner." That he wouldn't let me pay for.

He grins, some of the playboy coming back. "We should do it again sometime."

"Not necessarily."

"There," He says, smiling. "You're not scared of me anymore."

"I'm not scared of you," I say, exasperated.

"Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that." He winks, disappearing down the hall.

…

"Hey, Mom," I say, sitting next to my mother's motionless body. "How's life?"

She doesn't answer, and I don't really expect her to after almost a month in a coma.

"I got a job today with the Richard's. They're pretty nice. I also went out with Johnny Storm- not a date, more like babysitting, but it was still in public. He almost got me in trouble." I smile slightly, taking her hand. "They're thinking about pulling the plug, but I'm trying to fight for another week." I bite my lip, thinking, and I add a quiet, "I love you, Mom."

I think I feel her fingers twitch, but it must have been my imagination.

Sorry it's so short, and that this took so long, but I'm going to post again a lot sooner. Thanks for reading this and I promise the next chapter will be longer!