Chapter 3
On the plane the next day, I wasn't sure whether to be excited to nervous, but I finally decided to be both. Since nervousness was taking over, there wasn't much I could do about that, but I knew that I needed to be excited so I wouldn't just run from them.
It was several hours until the plane landed, so I decided to take a catnap, since I had hardly slept from excitement the last week. Only my plan didn't work very well, since the plane lost an engine, and we would have to make an emergency landing.
'Oh please, Professor, if you can hear me, help!' was all I could think, through it all, since I had completely forgotten my powers. I didn't get any answer, since it would still be some time before we even got to New York. After they started to get the plane under control, I still couldn't sleep, since I was afraid that something would happen to one of the other engines, so I decided that I would write everything that had happened since I met everyone in my journal, up to that point in time, to distract myself.
Needless to say, it actually worked. The next thing I knew, we were getting ready to land, having finally gotten there. When I looked at how long it had taken me to write everything, nearly three hours, and how much I had written, roughly seventeen and a half pages, I realized that I had thought my life pretty good, until I had started writing, since I didn't focus on what I was writing, just getting my mind of the plane.
When we were able to get off the plane, I got my purse and small hand bag, and walked off as quickly as I could, swearing to myself that I would never ride on a plane again when I could use a different mode of transportation, or unless I personally knew the pilots, and knew that they would do everything in their power to help.
When I finally got out of the tunnel into the loading area, I saw everyone to greet me, but mostly I saw Logan's smiling face. That's when I realized it.
'Oh boy' I thought. I liked Logan. I knew what this meant for me, but I also knew that it wouldn't be easy. It was the same now as with every other boy that I had ever liked, that I either told or that had found out. 'I'll have to avoid him!'
"How was your flight?" Scott asked, picking up her small carry-on bag.
"Fine." I answered, though I think it was a bit too quickly. The Professor seemed to know that something had happened, that had scared me to my wits end.
'How were things really?' The professor asked me, though not so anyone else could hear. My face fell. I knew that I wouldn't be able to hide it, but I still hoped.
'We had to make an emergency landing. I'm bad enough on planes as it is, but when we lost an engine, and then the other one, I lost it.' I told him, trying to not let anyone else know we were talking because of my facial features.
'Well, you made it here fine, so I guess everything turned out okay?' The Professor continued.
'I guess so.' I said, smiling a bit, walking out the doors of the airport.
When we all got into the car, since Scott was driving, the Professor sat in the front seat with Jean and Logan on either side of me while-since I was the youngest-I sat in the middle.
It took about a half hour to get to the school. All the way, I caught myself looking at Logan almost constantly. I fought it, and tried to talk to the Professor and Jean. Though half the way, the Professor was talking with Scott, and most the time Jean would join in, so I just pretended that I was tired, and tried to act like I was going to fall asleep. 'Thank goodness I kept trying to trick mom when I didn't want to talk, so I can use that now!' I thought.
Since Logan didn't get out of the car very fast, and Jean was nearly out, I decided that I would get out that side, and go to my room as quickly as possible, so I wouldn't have to talk to him.
"Cou-" Logan started, but I had already grabbed my bag and was out of the garage.
Though I had pushed past a few of the people, they all turned to look at me, and realized that I was running from Logan. That just got me more weird looks.
Since I didn't know where I would be sleeping, I just set my stuff down at the edge of the stairs, and went into the most crowded room I could find quickly.
Someone that looked like he was a professor, but a young one, even more so than Jean, walked over and introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you." I said to him, telling him my name.
"So what brings you here? What kind of power?" He asked, seeming truly interested, and I was glad that he was talking to me, because Logan had just walked in the room.
"Well, I see, or sometimes I have to meet them, but by just that I gain their powers. The Professor wanted me to come and learn better how to use them, plus get in some actual school." I said, mentioning that I hadn't ever really done school at home.
"Yeah, you definitely won't get to do that here." He said just as Logan walked up.
"I'll help you get your stuff to your room." Logan said, seeming not to notice that he had interrupted our conversation.
"Alright. Thank you." I said, not wanting him to, but not finding a polite way to decline, or any way that wouldn't hurt his feelings.
He led me to the stairs and picked up most of my bags, and I got the rest of them, but I still had an uneasy feeling about whatever it was he wanted to talk about.
We got to where I was supposed to sleep, and he set my stuff down by my bed and just stood there, it seemed like he was contemplating something.
Finally he spoke.
"How did you know?" Logan asked, looking up at me.
Fear swept over me. I didn't want him to know that I liked him. "Know what?" I asked, forcing myself to sound like I didn't care what was being said, or just had a lot of unpacking to do, and I was tired.
"After we came and saw you at your families house. How did you know that we needed help, or that we were in trouble?" Logan asked, a questioning look on his face.
"Comes with the powers I get I suppose. I guess since I had all ya'lls powers, then I…kinda know if something is wrong, or if everything's okay, or whatever." I said slowly, realizing this was one of the reasons the Professor wanted me to come here, so I could learn this very thing.
"Oh." He sounded disappointed, like he had expected something else. Or hoped.
There was silence for what seemed an eternity, and then he finally turned to leave.
"I suppose you want to unpack and rest a bit. I heard about the problems on the plane." He said facing me and seeing the indignant look on my face, but also the fear. "I'll see you later." He said, and walked the rest of the way out of the room before I could think of something to say.
I sighed, thankful that I was finally alone, since that had been all that I wanted since I had gotten into the car. I looked at my surroundings, and realized that I would be sharing a room with someone, and while I was thinking who it might be, I unpacked, careful to put everything in my dresser, instead of my roommates.
After several minutes, I noticed someone was standing in the doorway. Hoping that it wasn't Logan, I looked over and found myself staring at Jean.
"Courtney, is something wrong?" Jean asked, walking a little further into the room.
"No. No, why would it be?" I asked, getting somewhat frantic.
Since I was also able to read minds, then I could prevent mine from being read, even by the most powerful person.
"Because you are avoiding Logan like he's the plague. What's wrong, really?" She asked, sitting on my bed and motioning for me to join her.
Before I did, I went and checked to make sure that there wasn't anyone near the door in the hallway, and I closed the door. When that was done I finally joined her on the bed, fidgeting nervously.
"I-I'm not exactly sure, but I think-" I looked up at her quickly, trying to figure out if I could possibly lie and get away with it, much as I hated it.
It was a lost case.
"You've fallen in love with him." Jean stated, noting my pained expression. I simply just nodded my head.
"I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do. I can't talk to him like I used to, because things have changed, for me at least." I said, quickly forgetting I didn't want anyone to know.
"That's no reason why you can't talk to him. He's really worried, first that something's just wrong in your life, and second that either you don't like him, or that you're scared of him." Jean said, so many different expressions crossing her face. "He's fallen in love with you. You can't avoid it."
"I have to. I can't be in a relationship, and I wouldn't know how anyways. Besides… he's still in love with you." I said quietly. It hurt to say it, to acknowledge it, but I knew that I had to.
"No. Not anymore. He used to be in love with me, but then he met someone." Jean said, smiling slightly. "Don't sell yourself short. If you would allow it, I'm sure you would find yourself very happy around him." She paused for a minute, letting it sink in. "Think about that, but even if you can't be what you call-yourself- around him anymore, at least talk to him. He's hurting right now, because of everything he thinks he's done."
She gave me a quick hug, and then she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. I'm sure she knew that I needed to be alone. I sat still for several minutes before I just lay down on my bed and cried.
I'm not sure how long I cried, but soon I fell asleep, and when I woke up, I thought something was wrong. The lights were on, it was dark outside, and I didn't recognize where I was.
"So you've finally woken up."
I sat up abruptly, looking around to see who had spoken to me.
"It's alright. My name is Kaci. I'm your roommate. I hope you don't mind, but I finished putting all of your stuff away. I can't stand to see a lot of bags, so I put them under your bed. All of your clothes are in your closet, or in the drawers, and your toiletries are in the bathroom, or if their personal, in the bedside table." Kaci said, sitting in a chair by her bed, reading a book.
"Oh. Thank you. I'm Courtney." I said, noticing how raspy my voice was. I didn't want to say anything more so that-I hoped- she wouldn't notice, but it wasn't any use.
"There's some water on the table for you. I don't mean to pry, but I have a insatiable curiosity that will someday be my ruin, but why were you crying?" Kaci asked, putting the book down slightly so it wasn't covering her face so much.
"I-I-" I said, thinking fast, not wanting her to know that I've fallen in love with someone twice my age. "I'm just not used to all of this kind of stuff. And I've been having problems with my family. They don't like my choice to come here very much, and it's just all caught up with my I guess."
"Oh." She paused for a minute. "I'm sorry."
"That's okay. It's not your fault. And besides, I've learned to get along with it. My family doesn't want anything to do with me, that's their fault, not mine. I've done nothing wrong. At least, not for me."
"Oh." Kaci said, and then paused for a minute seeming to reflect. Her face sudden brightened. "I forgot. The Professor said that some food would be down there when you were ready. Everyone else has already eaten, but he always allows us to either skip our first meal here or take it late." She said, the brought her book back up to covering her face, dismissing me.
I sat looking at her for a minute, stunned, then took note of her message and got up to clean up for my dinner, even if I wouldn't be around anyone else.
I walked downstairs, looking around at my surroundings, now that I didn't feel so rushed to get away from Logan, I realized that I liked the was things looked here. I saw people playing foosball, and video games, and watching TV and reading books. I saw people playing board games, or just talking, and even some people on the phone.
When she walked into the kitchen, she found Logan sitting at the counter drinking some root beer. She also sees another teenage boy sitting next to him, and when Logan gets a warm root beer when he's done with the current one, he hands it to the other kid and just takes it back after a minute, covered with ice.
"Thanks kid. You've gotten really useful." Logan said, taking a drink and then putting the bottle up to his forehead.
"Yeah, real useful. First I cool off your drink, then I tell you there's someone else in the room." He said, looking back at me.
I knew that after he said that I looked very scared, but I couldn't seem to get control of my feelings. I liked having just stood there and watched Logan. It was comforting, but I didn't think that I was ready to talk to him yet. I still had to work a lot out!
I also noticed how when he said that, Logan jerked and turned around. I saw his face with a smile on it, and then when he saw how I was looking at them, he looked kind of angry, and sad. He turned away from me quickly, back to the counter and stared at it like his life was depending on it.
Looking back and forth between them, the kid suddenly introduced himself. "I'm Bobby. People call me Ice Man." He said, sticking his hand out.
"I'm Courtney." I said, then trying to loosen the tension say. "People call me Courtney." I said with a slight smile.
"Maybe I can help with that. What's your power?" Bobby-AKA Ice Man- asked.
"Well, I'm not really sur-" I started, but got interrupted.
"She gains peoples powers when she looks at them, or meet them. Like now, she'll have your power." Logan interrupted, seeming distant, but still seeming at the same time to pay close attention to the conversation.
Bobby looked impressed when he looked back at me. I barely noticed it, only out of the corner of my eyes. I was too focused on Logan.
"Courtney? Are you okay?" Bobby asked, looking between us now.
I snapped out of my reverie, right before Logan turned around to look, and I guess, make sure I wasn't killing myself, or something of the sort.
"Yeah, I think so. I'm just going to get something to eat." I said, weakly, walking to the fridge and getting out what looked to be tonight's dinner.
While my food was heating in the microwave, I noticed that I had started crying again. It had hurt so much to see the pain on Logan's face, and to hear him talk like he had. I didn't think it should, so I tried to stop them, but it didn't work.
I didn't hear much, but I heard enough to know that someone was leaving the room, and as much as I didn't want to talk to Logan, I wanted him to stay. I was also scared to look back and see that he was gone, but I decided that if he was, I would just follow him and talk to him.
I was surprised to look back and see that Bobby had left. I noticed that Logan was watching my face and I could tell that he was considering leaving too. Before I turned, I hadn't taken the time to wipe my face clean of tears.
We stood for a minute or two looking at each other, then Logan started getting up. I wasn't sure if he was leaving, but if he was, I had to stop him, though I didn't know how. When he started heading for the door, I took an involuntary step towards him.
"Logan!" I cried, not thinking about what I was doing. I just didn't want him to leave, at least without saying hello, and I didn't want him to leave… hurt.
He didn't speak, or turn back, he just kind of looked over his shoulder, I guess waiting for me to tell him something mean.
"Don't leave. I don't want you to go." I can't believe I actually said that!
He looked as surprised as I felt. He turned towards me slightly, and I took another step towards him. I looked up and, even though I knew I had to say it, I was scared to. He saw the fear, and misinterpreted it.
"I'm sorry. I know I've been avoiding you, but I had to figure some things out." I said, reaching my hand out to put it on his arm. "I know I shouldn't have been, but I've been scared, but it's not because of anything you've done. Please don't think that. It's just me."
"Courtney, you don't have to do this." He said quietly, looking down at me.
"I know. I never have to do anything. But what I have to do, or more importantly, what I want to do, does count." I said, making the final step up to him.
I didn't know what I was going to do, or even what I was doing, but I found myself on my toes, leaning in to kiss him on his… cheek? How did that happen? Far as I knew, I had been aiming for his mouth. Maybe it was better this way.
I went back down on my feet, and looking down, realized I felt really hot. 'Oh no!' I was blushing! I took a hold of his hand.
"Will you keep me company?" I asked, finally looking up at him again. He looked surprised, but happy, and even happier when he smiled.
"If you want me to." He said, leading the way back to the bar so I wouldn't have time to change my mind. Now it was my turn to smile.
He sat down, and, still holding his hand, I looked over at the microwave wondering when it was going to go off. Then I realized it already had.
"Oh!" I said, loosening my hand so I could go and get my food. I started walking forward and was jerked back. I realized that, even though I had loosened my hand, he hadn't loosened his.
"You sit." He said, smiling. "I'll get it."
I smiled at him and complied, knowing it was futile to argue. He got my food and something to eat with, along with a napkin and a soda.
"Thank you." I said, then looked down again. "Especially for staying with me."
"I think I'm happier about that than you are." He said, sitting down next to me and, with his head leaning on his hand, looked right at me the whole time I ate.
It was a very enjoyable way to spend meal time, and I wished that I could do this every night, instead of eating with everyone else, as I was sure this would be much more enjoyable.
When I finished my last bite of food, and got up and turned to put my chair back in its position, then turned back to get my plates to clean them and found them gone.
"You don't have to do that you know." I said, looking over at Logan who had my plates, and was commencing to clean them.
"I know. I don't have to do anything, but what I need to do and what I want to do, it's my choice." He said, smiling at me.
For a minute I forgot to breath. It was bad enough that he had used my own words on me, but then to smile like that! 'Insufferable man!' I thought.
When he finished cleaning my dishes, he looked at the clock and his face lost the happy look.
"I'm sure you're tired, and tomorrow will be very important for you. We better be getting to our rooms." He said, starting to walk from the room.
"Logan!" I said, hurrying after him.
When he stopped, I was already so close and he stopped so abruptly that I ran into him. He put his arms around me to steady me, making sure that I wouldn't fall. When I was able to stand on my own again, I tried to make it seem like I couldn't. I liked the feel of his arms around me, but he noticed, and took his arms off me.
"Thank you again, for sitting with me, and thank you for saving me just then. I'm also sorry for avoiding you, and for running into you just now." I said, the whole time looking down at my feet. When I got the courage to look up again, he looked amused. I realized that I had been rambling, so to cover up a bit, I stood on m toes again and kissed him on the cheek, then hurried away to my room.
'I don't know what's come over me, but I like it. I'll also have to find Jean tomorrow and thank her. I've really enjoyed tonight. And who knows, maybe he does like me back.' I thought, but then it was ruined. 'But what if he's just humoring me?'