Chapter 7 Love

I woke groggily on the cloth seat of a moving vehicle, my head resting on a man's lap. The now familiar undercurrent of anger told me it was Arik. His hand rested on my side. I didn't want to move, the warmth, the comfort, and affection wrapping themselves around me were too blissful to bring to an end. Arik must have felt me wake for his hand ran gently up and down my arm. I drearily opened my eyes, feeling quite refreshed. Abruptly, I remembered how I had fallen asleep.

I shot up, demanding, "Where is he?! Ima kill him!"

"Driving! He's driving!" Charles sheepish voice came from the front of the vehicle.

"You are soooo gonna get it. You're just lucky you're driving at the moment," I growled.

Raven leaned forward, calling out over the noise of the road.

"Don't worry. We're almost there."

Her mischievous grin easily complimented my own. As she turned back around, I pressed my hand against the hard seat to push myself into a more comfortable position. But as I added pressure to my hands, an excruciating pain shot through my arms. I barely contained a loud yelp, gasping in shock instead. I looked down. My hands were swathed in white cloths.

"Wha-" I mumbled.

Arik's low voice said softly, "They're badly burned, Jenny. It happened before we arrived. Do you know...?"

I stared dumbly down at my hands. I vaguely remembered seeing my disfigured fingers, but I couldn't remember any pain.

I shook my head. "It must have happened when Darwin-" I swallowed hard. "I remember a lot of heat, but..."

I couldn't bring myself to describe what else I remembered.

"No more," Arik said quickly. "Just rest while you can."

I slumped back down in my seat, head resting on Arik's shoulder. My arms rested awkwardly in my lap. To my surprise, Arik's hand slipped down and cradled one of my wounded hands in his. The others indulged in casual conversation, but beside me, Arik remained silent and withdrawn. I could feel the anger within him fluctuating via our physical touch. His anger at my inquiry was clear and quite potent.

"Stop it," I whispered, wanting to intertwine my fingers with his.

He tilted his head to face mine. "Stop what?"

"Thinking about Shaw."

"I wasn't-" he began, then sighed. "I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

I ignored him. "Can't you just enjoy being among friends for even a few minutes?"

He loosed a deep, troubled sigh, and sorrow burst to life within him.

"I don't know how to do that, Jenny," he whispered.

"Then let us show you."

I lifted my head and called, "Oi! Raven!"

"Ya?"

Her head flipped around to face them.'

"Remember that time we snuck into that bar as identical twins?"

"And you used your ability to find the most cocky bachelors in the place, so we could shut them down!"

"You did what?!" Yelled Charles incredulously.

We laughed loud and hard as the others barraged us with questions. Raven excitedly recounted our comedic adventures of the evening. At the wheel, Charles was shaking his head.

"I can't believe you two-"

"Oh come on, Charles. We both know you use your gift to capture women's attention all the time!"

I could feel his embarrassment radiating through the car. I grinned.

"Are you blushing, Charles?" I teased.

"Don't mess with my emotions, Jennifer Xavier!"

The entire car burst into laughter. One by one, we shared instances when we had abused our abilities—even Alex, who had used his mutation to frighten a group of bullies. The happiness filing the car was intoxicating. Most of them had thought themselves alone. But now...now we had a community—a small community—but a community nonetheless.

By the time we reached our destination, even Arik was laughing, and nothing in the world could have added to my joy. As the car stopped, I hurriedly threw up my wards, sealing my emotional half from the world. Arik helped me from the car as I cradled my hands to my chest. We all stepped out onto the lawn outside Xavier Manor.

"You've led a hard life, Charles," Arik commented dryly.

"Well," said Raven, stepping up to Charles' side. "It was a hardship shared by u-us!"

She hooked her arm with Charles, and the two of them led the small group into our home. While Charles and Raven raided the kitchen, I hurried up the stairs to a hall of guest bedrooms. Using my wrists, I managed to open the first door. I fluffed the pillows and made sure all was in order. I had always prided myself as a brilliant hostess, even if our visitors had always been few. Charles and I kept this hall stocked and ready in case distant relatives decided to check in on us 'lonely children'.

I went to open the window, intending to let in fresh air fill the stuffy room. But as I reached for the latch, white bandages filled my vision. My eyes welled with tears, and I lowered my injured hands. I felt so helpless; I hadn't felt so useless since before I learned to manage my mutation. Our parents hadn't been around much, leaving Charles and me to care for ourselves. And I had protected him as much as he had protected me. I ground my teeth in frustration, glaring at the still closed window.

"Need help?" a low voice from the doorway behind me nearly had me leaping out of my skin.

With a loud curse, I spun around. Arik grinned into the room from the doorway.

"These rooms are quite nice. The entire house is...large."

After making sure he noted my glare, I shrugged.

"It's our family's manor. Too big, if you ask me. Or at least, not enough people to share it with."

Arik paused in a thoughtful silence for a moment before his eyes glanced curiously around the room.

"So, what are we doing?" he asked.

"We?"

He raised his eyebrows dubiously. I sighed in resignation.

"I need the windows open, for fresh air."

Without a word, he strode across the room, unlatched the lock, and swung the window outward. I made sure to maintain a calm demeanor, but I was deeply confused. I could always sense his presence, words or no.

The window open, I made my way to the next bedroom, and called, "Leave the door open. We've gotta let the air circulate."

As we entered the next room (Arik hurrying to open the door for me), he asked, "You grew up here?"

"Yup," I began checking the room for anything out of place as Arik went to the window. "Went to school about ten miles away."

"How did you manage to attend school as a child with your...ability?"

I frowned. "I kept to myself mostly. Charles was always the people-person. He'd usually distract the other kids from bothering me, especially on a bad day."

We moved on through the rooms, opening windows, fluffing pillows, and reorganizing. And all the while, talking.

"And how did you figure out the 'wards' thing?"

I held back a chuckle at his futile attempt to vocalize my defenses before responding, "Charles worked that out in grade school. Well, we kind of developed it together. He figured out how to keep his emotions to himself, and I determined how to reverse that and keep emotions out." We headed into the last room. "I was lucky, I suppose. It's the nature of being a twin to never truly be alone."

Arik grunted loudly as he pulled at the window. I pointedly decided to inform him of the extra latches on this window. It had been my grandfather's room, and he had been more than a little paranoid. It was quite entertaining watching him struggle, but I finally decided to take pity on him.

"You work with metal, and you can't even figure out how to unhitch a latch or two!"

I reached around him to point out the extra mechanism. Arik quickly released them and jostled the frame slightly to loosen the years of compacted dust. Using my forearm, I gently pushed the glass outward. As I turned, grinning from the fresh air, my shoulder brushed against him. With a gasp of shock, I gently laid my palm against his pulsing heart. I could do nothing but stare at the back of my bandaged hand for several moments. Hesitantly, I lowered my barriers, tensing for the onslaught of anger that always encircled his heart. But it didn't come. My wide eyes slowly moved upwards to find his filled with peace.

"You're calm," I whispered, surprise clear in my voice.

He smiled softly, the first genuine smile I had seen. With my right hand, I traced the lines around his mouth in wonder, the afternoon sunlight wrapping us in its warm glow. His left hand reached up to gently wrap around my wrists.

His voice rumbled low as his hand traced my arm to rest on my shoulder. "All of these years, my life has been driven by anger. That was all I knew, all I had. But the more time I spend with you, the more I find myself wanting more to live for. When I'm with you, I can see beyond my desire for revenge."

I drew my hand down, gently. My own sorrow and guilt gripped my heart as I carefully reconstructed my wards. My eyes lowered sadly to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Arik. That's just my mutation. It doesn't mean anything."

I bit my lip. I wanted it to be more than my mutation, and that was the hardest part. I could never know when someone's affection was genuine and not merely a reaction to how good I could make them feel with my mutation. Strong fingers tilted my chin up. Arik stepped right up to me. The heat from his body permeated my skin. His fingers slid up to stroke my cheek. I rested my head in his hand and closed my eyes, unable to fight the warmth spreading throughout my body. His other hand wrapped around my waist, pulling our bodies against one another. My mind screamed warnings at me; I was putting myself in such danger. But any resistance was drowned in my own desire.

"Arik," I whispered. "We shouldn't."

His lips brushed my cheek, sending my heart fluttering in my chest.

"Why not?" he asked huskily.

"It's not real."

His eyes met my pained glance. Brushing my hair from my face, he leaned down and planted his lips on mine. In less than a second, my wards melted. Electricity shot through my body from his touch, setting fire to my limbs. Parting my lips slightly, I uncertainly returned the kiss. An alien pleasantness filled my chest; our emotions melded in my heart until one was indistinguishable from the other. Desire and affection flooded every corner of my being. Arik's presence engulfed me, nothing else mattered. I pulled away, breathing heavily. Arik pressed his forehead to mine.

He murmured breathlessly, "Tell me that wasn't real."

I smiled. "I don't know if I can say much of anything right now."

He grinned and kissed me again.

Jenny, where did-? Charles' voice began in my head.

I broke away from Arik with a yelp, the red in my cheeks deepening.

"Charles!" I shouted, knowing full well he would hear my every word. "You are sooo dead! And we are going to have a long chat later regarding privacy!"

A sheepish Charles quickly retreated from my mind.

"I'm gonna kill him," I stated matter-of-factly.

"No you won't," Arik grinned. "He's your brother, and you love him."

He slipped an arm around my waist.

I sighed. "We better head back down or someone will actually come up and look for us."

And by 'someone' I meant Raven. That girl just had a knack for being where she shouldn't. We quickly made our way back down to the kitchen, only pulling away just as we entered the room. Charles carefully avoided my accusing glare.

"Everybody get enough to eat?"

They all murmured assent.

"Wonderful! Then grab your things and follow me!"

I led the small group up the flight of stairs to the hall of prepared rooms, Charles and Arik bringing up the rear.

"These three rooms here," I gestured at the doors nearest the stairs. "Are mine, Charles's, and Raven's. Other than that, you can have your pick of open doors. If you have any problems or questions, ask me not Charles—he won't know what to do."

My eyes lit with humor as everyone laughed. The young people curiously spread out down the hall, Raven pointing out the 'best' rooms. I turned to Charles and Arik. My brother gave me a weak, apologetic grin, which I returned with a glare. Arik's eyes darted between the twins.

"So..." Arik said, breaking the tense silence.

"So," I said, without shifting my glare. "How are we going to do this? Train? Hank can use our lab, but..."

"I have some ideas. But we'll rest tonight. Start fresh in the morning," Charles put in.

I nodded. "Very well. Then I'm going to turn in."

After kissing my brother on the cheek, I retreated to my own bedroom and sank onto my bed, eyes boring into the floor. What had just happened? What had I done? If I began to love him, I would forever be vulnerable to him. I sighed. Who was I trying to fool? I was already in love with him. A soft knock sounded on my door.

"Who is it?"

"Charles."

"Come on in."

Charles slipped into the room, closing the door behind him. I gave him a weak smile, then continued staring at the floor. He took a step forward.

"I'm so sorry, Jen. But do you have any idea what this means? What will happen? You've put yourself in a great deal of danger. How-"

"Please, no more, Charles," I half whispered without looking up.

Charles must have sensed something in my voice, for he clammed up instantly, waiting for me to speak. I didn't know what to do. Charles was right. What I had done was insane. My eyes welled with tears, and I looked up at Charles helplessly.

"I'm scared, Charles. I don't know what to do."

In a second, Charles was on the bed, arms wrapped around my shoulders. Tears flew freely down my face. .

"I can't do this. I've opened a door I can't close."

"Shh..sh...sh.." Charles gently stroked my hair, trying to calm me down. "It's all going to be okay, Jenny. We'll get through this. We'll figure it out. You and I, we've made it this far, haven't we?"

Fear clutched my heart. My thoughts raced, imagining the worst possible scenarios. Quickly, Charles surfaced in my mind.

Stop it. That's not helping.

I sobbed, but he merely began suppressing my negative thoughts, replacing them with visions of childhood trips to the beach and other beautiful things. My sobs gradually lessened, and I found myself laying my head in his lap. He continued to fill my mind with overwhelmingly positive images, slowly lulling me into an exhausted sleep.

I woke the next morning curled next to my twin, my head on his shoulder. His arm was still wrapped around my shoulders protectively. I took a deep breath and sat up, stretching. Charles stirred beside me and yawned deeply. I sighed sadly as I glanced down at my bandaged hands.

"They'll heal, Jenny," Charles whispered from behind me.

I smiled weakly. "I know. I just feel so useless."

"My twin can never be useless-Have you taken your pills yet?"

I shook my head, and Charles quickly left the room, thoughts lost in the events of the previous night. I would just have to avoid Arik as much as possible. Closing my eyes, I constructed the strongest walls around my heart I had ever built, convinced the only way to get through this was to block off my emotions.

Charles returned, carrying a glass of water, a jar, and fresh bandages. I grimaced but dutifully took the pills he pulled from his pocket, clumsily using my wrists to down the water. It was messy, but it gave me satisfaction knowing I managed it on my own. Charles then carefully unwrapped my hands. We both flinched as they were exposed. The cold air stung slightly as it brushed over the raw skin. The back of my hands looked almost normal, just slightly red, more like a sunburn than anything. But my palms were scabbed and raw. I looked away. Without a word, he opened the jar and began coating my hand in its contents. It was a thick salve meant to keep my hands from drying out. He then carefully wrapped them in fresh, clean cloths.

"There," he said as he finished.

"Did they say how long-?" I asked hesitantly, pulling my hands back.

Charles looked me in the eyes seriously. "They said they're not quite as bad as they look, and you should have some function back within two weeks. But other than that, we don't know yet."

"Ok," I said stiffly, thankful I had already sealed away my emotions. "We'll need food for our guests. Could you..?"

"On it," he said without hesitation. As he stepped out the door he called, "Rest, Jen. We need you well."

As the door closed, I stared at myself in the mirror. My dark hair shot out at odd angles from different sides of my head. I sighed heavily. There was no way I was taming that without my hands. I dragged myself across the hall and kicked at the closed door. A loud groan sounded from inside before a bleary eyed Raven cracked open the door. She just blinked at me.

"Help?" I asked pathetically.

She glanced down at my hands and nodded slowly.

"Gimme five minutes, and I'll be over," she mumbled.

I smiled weakly at her and returned to my room. Until my burns healed, I would have to tuck away my pride and rely on my brother and Raven.