Playlist.
-Titanium: (cover) by jasmine Thompson
- Like I'm gonna lose you - Meghan Trainor.
- I see fire - Jasmine Thompson
- Give your heart a break -Anthem lights
- Hold each other – great big world
-There's a new world coming- Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children.
-Mad world -Jasmine Thompson cover.
- Take me to church – Jasmine Thompson cover.
- One call away – Charlie Puth
Ch. 7: Inner turmoil and Oxford.
"Noah, are you awake?" since the fight in Cuba, Noah had been rather shut off, she'd still talk with him and Hank if they started the conversation but otherwise she made herself sparse, opting to send her time in the library.
"Hello, Charles." The absence of a smile on her face saddened the Telepath. "How are you feeling today?" he sat in the chair next to her.
"The same as yesterday, fine." Her distance from him had also been something of a problem.
"Well, I was hoping we could go somewhere today, I think you'll enjoy it." Her gold and silver eyes peeked over the cover of her book. "Charles, I can't…" Charles took her hand in his, she was going to retract but she saw the deration in his eyes and gave in.
"Fine, but please, let me wear my sunglasses." Charles smiled, she was finally willing to go back outside, it was a rather large improvement from two months ago.
"Alright, I really do think you're going to love where we're going." She rolled her eyes, reaching for something on one of the library's many shelves. She slid the black lensed glasses onto her face, letting him know she was ready to go.
Charles led her outside to where the car was parked, opening the passenger side door for her before walking over and getting into the driver's seat.
"Want to tell me where we're going?" He grinned at her sudden curiosity, "If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, love." She sighed and turned her attention to the window as he drove down the long drive way, pulling out onto the freeway.
"Charles, I'm really in no mood for games." He sighed. "Noah, what can I do to help you?"
"Figure out a way to fix me, Charles. I can't live like this." She indicated to her hair and her eyes, taking the sunglasses off.
"You've never looked more beautiful, Love. I wish you could see that." They passed a road sign.
"Charles…why are you taking me to towards the oxford administration office?" he smiled but said nothing, she sighed again and returned to watching the tress fly past.
He parked the car in the pay lot and went to open the door for Noah, she stepped out and looked around.
"Oxford University, Charles?" His grin did not falter as he motioned for her to follow.
"Come on, Love. I told you I had a surprise for you." She didn't know if she liked where this was going but she followed him into the administrative building.
"Charles, please, tell me what's going on."
"I told you I'd pull some strings, so you could finish your degree." Her eyes widened and Charles' smile grew. "We're here to enroll you in classes for next fall. I got you an interview with the dean."
"Shut up! Charles, you didn't!" the look on her face made him happy, for the first time since the incident she had a huge smile on her face.
"Oh but I did, Love. Come on." He grabbed her hand, dragging her along behind him.
"Welcome Miss Beckett."
"Noah, please. Miss Becket was my mother." The dean nodded, "Of course, It's a pleasure to meet someone Charles speaks so highly of." Noah glanced back at him, Charles had taken a seat by the door.
"Well, Noah was in attendance of one of my thesis lectures, she is incredibly bright."
"And you understood it? that is quite impressive. Genetics is out of my field of expertise I'm afraid."
"It's fairly simple if you really think about it, but I've always been one of the odd women out." The dean chuckled.
"I've looked over your academic record and it's fantastic, you've been straight A's since freshman in high school, clean academic record, no fights, suspensions or expulsions. Graduated with honors." He continued to scan her transcripts, Noah was curious as to how he acquired them.
"Charles has explained your situation to me, your…mutation? It won't be a problem here." Noah shot Charles a look, he shrugged in response.
"So, he's told you what happened in Cuba?"
"It was all over the news, even if he hadn't told me I'd have figured it out. What you and the other's accomplished saved us from another world war." If only he knew, there was a war going on, it was just behind the scenes.
"well judging from all this, our university would be honored to have you." She felt a weight lift off her chest.
"Thank you so much!" the elderly man smiled, shaking Noah's hand.
"Of course, You'll receive a letter when you are able to register for your classes."
"Charles, I can't believe this!" he smiled, watching her excited expression. "Well you should, it happened."
"Thank you!"
"I never go back on my word, love. I know how torn up you are that you can't go back to UCLA."
"It's…for the best, they don't know." She tugged the sleeve down on her arm, hiding her mark, Charles stopped her, taking her hand in his and giving it a firm squeeze. Her eyes found his, hidden behind black lenses.
"But now I'll be thousands of miles away, Charles. We won't be able to see one another except over breaks and vacations."
"If it means I can keep seeing you smile, then I can endure it." she smacked his arm, "You're such a cheese ball." He chuckled.
"I've been told. Come on."
"Where are we going?" he said nothing, leading her down the road.
"Charles!" more silence, she sighed and let him pull her alongside him. He finally stopped outside a small shop, it looked quirky and the items in the window probably cost more than her child hood home, if she had to guess.
"My mother used to come here when I was a boy. We were never short on money so she always had some to burn."
"so why did you bring me here?" Charles looked at her clothing, "You've been wearing Raven's hand-me-downs, I figured something new might be nice." Noah looked at the price of one of the items and almost choked, "Charles, this place is far too expensive, please, I wouldn't be able to accept anything that costly." He smiled at her protest. "Alright, Alright, I think there are a few other shops around here."
"Good, I'm not really a girl for extravagant gifts, anyway." At least she was honest, another trait of hers he loved. As they walked down the street a small consignment shop caught Noah's eye.
"This place looks much more affordable."
"it's only a consignment shop, love."
"I feel more comfortable in here, either way." He smiled, he knew if she was happy here that was all that mattered, besides, once the end of summer came, she'd be gone for a while.
She hadn't picked very many things out during their patronage at the small shop, but she seemed happy with what she had.
"I think that's enough excitement for one day, can we go back home?" her attitude had shifted, something must have triggered her, it wasn't until he looked around he saw why she wanted to go back home, all around her were people with normal appearances, and she stood out with her silver and gold colored hair. he felt a sudden Pang of emotion, but he couldn't place what it was.
"Of course." They walked back to the car in silence.
"I'm sorry, Charles." He glanced over at her as they drove back towards home. "What for?"
"I ruined your gesture, all because I'm insecure." He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers, "I have faith you'll adapt, as humans it's all we can do." She turned to look at him.
"We're not exactly normal humans, Charles."
"That's not what I meant, Noah." He turned into the long drive way leading up to the house.
"Then explain it, I don't understand."
"You will in time, just trust me." He reached up, removing her glasses. "Noah, I wish you could see how amazing this really is."
"What's amazing about not being able to blend in, I finally understand why Raven always hid."
"Raven hid because her skin was blue, yours is not. Stop being so over dramatic."
"I'm not being over dramatic, Charles, I'm being realistic." She reached for the door handle as he put the car in park.
"Where are you going?"
"To find Hank!" an alarm went off in his head, "Why?" he chased her down, grabbing her arm to stop hr from going any farther.
"Let go of me Charles!"
"Not until you promise me you won't do anything stupid!" he whipped her around, forcing her to look at him.
"I'm young and impulsive, Charles, I'm prone to do stupid things!"
Both of her eyes glowed gold now, Charles stared her down.
"Get out of my head…" Noah stared back at him with resentment, he continued to sift through her thoughts.
"Charles!" finally she shoved him away, "What the hell, Charles!"
"You won't tell me what your problem is, so I went digging."
"How fucking dare you! God you're just like every other man out there!" this struck a nerve and before he could stop himself he had slapped her. She stood stock still, staring wide eyed at the ground.
"You…"
"Oh my god, Noah, I'm so sorry." She moved away from him, realization washed over his face.
"Noah?"
"Stay away…" she looked like a kicked puppy, her expression caused him pain. He watched as she took off back into the house, he knew he had fucked up.
*A few days later.*
"Noah hasn't come out of her room in days, Charles. Care to tell me what's going?" The brunette looked at the fur covered mutant, running a hand through his hair.
"I messed up, Hank."
"That much is obvious, but wat did you do."
"I lost my temper, Hank, I hit her." Hank looked at his friend, "That's pretty bad, but it shouldn't be this serious."
"she was scared of me, that's what hurts the most, I've never had anyone be afraid of me."
"All you can do is give her space, Charles. Try talking to her with your telepathy."
"I've tried, but she ignores me."
"keep trying, trust me. In the meantime, I think I've finally figured out how to get myself back to normal."
"Wonderful, Hank, will you excuse me?" he nodded, knowing Charles needed to think.
Noah ignored the knock on her door, keeping her knees tucked up to her chest, she had contemplated escape, but knew he'd only hunt her down.
"Go away!" she felt him poking around in her mind again.
'Noah, please, we have to talk about this.'
'No, We don't Charles, what you did…I can't even look at you right now.' He felt that pain again, the one in his chest.
'I want to apologize, please come out, or at the very least open the door.'
'it's not locked…' Charles tried the door to find it had indeed been unlocked, she had just been ignoring him.
"Noah." She didn't move, watching him warily from her spot on the bed. Charles sat at the foot end and stared at her, her eyes were red from crying and her face was flushed and tear stained.
"You look like hell, Love." She shot him a glare, "You're one to talk, Charles, ever heard of a razor?" there it was, that cocky attitude of hers.
"Alright, I guess I deserved that."
"You deserve much more than that but I'm too tired to fight anymore, Charles. I can't do it anymore. It's lonely."
"I wouldn't know, my heads never quiet." His sad attempt at a joke, the corners of her mouth quirked upwards slightly.
"There's that pretty smile." She rolled her eyes, "You're cornier than corn bread, Charles." Her simile cracked him up.
"Cornier than Corn bread? Your insults are terrible, Love."
"Shut up." She threw a pillow at his head, he ducked out of the way and moved closer to her, her body going rigid as he touched her face.
"I don't take back what I said earlier, I do wish you could see how beautiful your mutation has made you." She stared into his blue eyes, searching but not finding any signs of insincerity.
"and if I am being honest, this only makes you more stunning."
"Okay, seriously, stop, your one liners are killing me." He laughed. "there are other ways I could kill you, love." She stared back at him defiantly. He smiled, moving his hand down to her side and starting to tickle her.
"ACK! Charles, Stop!"
"Say you forgive me and concede defeat!"
"I forgive you, but I will not concede!" she tried to push him off but he pinned her wrists, staring down at her now as he straddled her waist.
"Charles?" he had stopped his assault, much to her relief but now she didn't know what to do, he had her trapped.
"Come end of summer, I'll only see you over holidays." Was he admitting he would be lonely? She took in their position and struggled, trying to pry her wrists free, he refused to let go, wanting to stay in the moment a while longer.
"I'll write whenever I can, Charles, and I'll be home for thanksgiving, and Christmas, then for summer break, you can come visit me as well, you and Hank both." Charles chuckled, "Speaking of Hank, he's found a real solution to mutant cosmetics problems, supposedly." Noah seemed surprised.
"He didn't learn from the last time?"
"Obviously not, but he is a scientist, it's all trial and error…and more error."
"Don't let him hear you say that." Charles finally let her hands free, she reached up to touch his face.
"I'm sorry for how I've been lately. I'm struggling right now because I know there's nothing I can do."
"so that's it, for once something is out of your control." She nodded, slightly ashamed.
"I feel that way sometimes, being unable to turn the voices off. Sometimes it hurts, mostly when people believe they want to die." Noah said nothing, continuing to just stare up at him.
"You know…a long time ago I hit a low point." Charles got off her, moving to sit beside her instead.
"I was in an abusive relationship with…well, you saw Michael. If it hadn't been for Chris and Lex there's a chance I wouldn't have made it." Charles looked at her sympathetically. "Do you mind if I…you know?" she looked reproachful,
"I won't if you're not comfortable with it." she shook her head, "No, it's fine. Just, not right now."
"I understand, Love." He smiled down at her. "I'm glad you're opening up, I've realized over the last few weeks I don't know much about you at all, aside from what you've let me see."
"I don't think my past is of much importance, but if you really want to know I won't stop you, Charles." He chuckled again.
"That's very passive of you, love. But I may cause you pain if I just go through them like that, which I won't do." Noah smiled at him.
"It's fine, even if it's in small sessions, you have a right to know. However, in return for each session we hold, you tell me about you as well."
"An amicable compromise, you have yourself a deal my little Nymph." She rolled her eyes, he just winked.
"So corny, now get out, I need to change." He feigned hurt, "You're kicking me out, love? What if don't want to leave?" she faced him, "That's fine, you can see me naked, it was bound to happen eventually." She shrugged taking off her shirt and heading into her closet.
"You have flawless skin; did you know?" she stared at him incredulously, "There's not a single mole or odd mark other than your mutation." She felt mildly self-conscious as his eyes drifted over her body.
"the scars faded long ago, Charles." She shifted uncomfortably
"Yes, I know. The human body is still a mystery."
"7 years." He looked at her confused.
"I'm sorry?"
"How long it takes for all the old skin cells on your body to vanish. It's like being an entirely different person, but you're not."
"Fascinating, are you sure I can't keep you here as a teacher?" Noah laughed,
"No, but I'll be around for the winter season so maybe I can be a stand in. You should go ask that Logan guy, the way you got turned down seemed like a good indicator he'd be a good teacher."
Charles did not seem amused. "I believe his exact words were, and I quote, 'fuck off'."
"I still think he'd be beneficial, but if he acts that way, it's best he not be around children."
"his attitude is precisely why we walked away."
"On another note, have you even thought about curriculum? Done any research?"
"the plan is to run the institute like a regular high school, teach the basic general education classes, maybe a few electives and some mutation control classes."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea, I think Mutation control could be split between hank and yourself. You have the patience of a saint what with all those voices." She flashed him a grin, he rolled his eyes but laughed.
"Yes, I suppose you're right. But I think you'd be better, you have to hold back the entire force of nature, all I have to do is drown out a lot of background noise." Noah grinned, "if this is your attempt at getting me to stay, you've failed. But I'm tired, today has been rather chaotic, plus I'll have to pack what little I have here, starting tomorrow and start looking at living arrangements."
"I've got that taken care of, you'll stay where I did. It's a lovely little apartment, very quiet." Noah stared at him s she crawled into bed.
"it's in a nice neighborhood, there's some shops only a few blocks away, a cute little coffee shop I'm sure you'll love."
"Charles you've already done more than enough; I can't possibly accept that."
"Well, I'm not letting my girlfriend live on the streets of a foreign country." She froze at the word 'girlfriend' staring at him.
"Charles, you just called me your girlfriend." He smiled, moving up to sit next to her again. "Well, you are, love."
"it's just the first time I've heard you say it out loud."
"Well, accept it, and accept the apartment, please? It will make me feel more at ease while you are gone over seas." Noah sighed but gave in.
"You're so persistent, fine, I'll stay at your place over there." He kissed her forehead, "Thank you. But you are right, it is late."
"Good night, Charles."
"Goodnight, love."
I tried to make this long and I really hope it flows as well as it looks like it does, please tell me what you guys think, as usual reviews get faster updates, even if they are a few days to a week or so apart.
What do you guys think about Charles and Noah? Also I have a hell of a surprise in store for you readers somewhere in the next few chapters. muwahahaha
