"Make new friends, but keep the old."
[xxxxx]
2. A New Friend
"Why me?" Logan asked, his tense muscles showing every indication of anger.
He stood in front of Storm's desk and she on the other side. She leaned back in her chair and stared up coolly, unfazed by his evident temper.
"I give you orders, and you follow them. That's how it goes." she explained, with identical wording, for the umpteenth time.
Logan clenched his jaw shortly, but gave in. "Why not get Kurt to do it? Kids like fuzzy blue things, don't they?"
Storm stood up and leaned forward, hands resting on her desk. "This was a joint decision. You've been given a task. Now fulfill it." She handed him a thick purple folder that felt to contain a lot of crap that he probably would never need.
He took it, but before he had a moment to open it, Storm ushered him away from her desk and toward the door. "Now, out you go. I have work to do."
She saw him to the door and out into the hallway before he could get even a word out. He heard her turn the lock, so didn't bother trying to get back in for further explanation.
Logan stood in the hallway a moment before opening the purple folder labelled, hand-written in black marker: "Lenore Davis". Inside were some medical files, a birth certificate, among other identification files. There were also a few pages giving information on Susan and James Davis, who must have been the girl's parents.
He pulled out a photo from the folder.
It was of two women, one looking to be in her early twenties and the other middle-aged. They held a striking resemblance to one another, beside the fact that the young one was a redhead and the older had fading blond hair.
He flipped the photo over, and written on the back was the date of the photo – "June 7, 2002" – along with two names – "Susan & Lenore".
There was also a short note in the folder, addressed to him.
"Logan," it read. "In this folder you will find all the information you need on Miss Lenore Davis."
Lenore was the girl that Storm had told her about.
"It holds her legal, medical and personal details," it continued. "I ask you to familiarize yourself with Miss Davis's past while she is in your care. I am hopeful that you two will get along. Miss Davis is currently staying in Room 237 on the second floor of the girls' dormitory. She will be waiting for you there."
The letter was signed with Hank McCoy's signature, but below it 'Beast' was playfully scrawled out in primitive-style writing.
Logan gave a small chuckle before heading off to find the strange Miss Lenore Davis.
[xxxxx]
As he hesitated at the old wooden door, Logan took a deep breath. He stared at his hand that floated a few inches away from the door, and wondered what this girl was going to be like.
He knocked on the door with two solid, hard knocks.
"One second!" A voice called out from inside the room.
After the clicking of a lock, the door swung open quickly to reveal the young woman who he had seen in the photo. Her red hair was even more vibrant in person than it was in the photo, but now it was pulled into one loose braid that curled around her neck. Her most notable feature was her height – she stood almost a foot shorter than him. Dressed in bright blue denim shorts and a pink T-shirt, Lenore looked more like an elementary schoolgirl than a woman, Logan thought, and that he must have misjudged her age.
"You must be Logan." she said in a cheerful voice before abruptly grabbing his wrist and pulling him into the room.
Once inside, Logan took a look around the room, cocking an eyebrow at the stuffed animals and childish posters that decorated the room. It looked like a little girl's paradise.
Lenore closed the door and plopped down on her bed, crossing her legs and nibbling her lip. "Storm told me all about you." she said, staring at him curiously.
He nodded, and shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other, then back again. "I'm guessing that you're–"
"Lenore Katherine Davis?" she finished his sentence, smiling energetically and bobbing her head. "Yep. That's me." she confirmed.
Logan nodded slightly, and began to pace around the room. "I'm supposed to be your babysitter, y'know. Supposedly I have nothing better to do." he grunted, looking out the lonely window opposite the door.
Lenore smirked. "Do we get to hang out?" she asked, trying to conceal her excitement.
He scoffed. "Unfortunately… yes."
She celebrated silently, smiling and humming a soft tune to herself. "So, what do you want to do?" Lenore asked, looking up at Logan, who drifted about the room.
"There's not a whole lot to do around here." he replied blandly.
She nodded. "That's alright, because I always find something to do. My mom says I'm very inventive."
There was an weird silence.
Lenore sighed, and Logan watched as she took a doll from her end table and played with it. "Logan?" she said, peering over at him. "Can you tell me why I'm here?"
He sighed. The purple folder hadn't said anything about Lenore's purpose at the mansion, and neither had Storm. "Do you have anywhere I could sit, kid?"
Lenore gestured to a wicker chair that sat near the window, and Logan dragged it over to the side of her bed before taking a seat. He leaned forward, and rested his hands on his knees. "To tell you the truth… I got no clue."
"Are you lying?" she asked calmly, but obviously unsatisfied with his answer. "Everyone always lies. Somebody has to know why I'm here. Nobody would just put me here for no reason, would they?"
Logan shrugged and reclined back in his chair. In the medical file it had explained something about amnesia, but wouldn't Storm have told the girl about that? "Sorry, kid. Like I said, I've got no clue."
Lenore huffed and picked up her doll, dropping the subject. "Are you a mutant?"
He took a deep, rugged breath and lightly tapped his forefinger on his knee. "Yep." he answered. He watched as Lenore again leaned across the bed end table to grab another doll.
"Well, what can you do?" she asked expectantly.
Logan sighed and lifted his hand up. Making sure that it was out of the way, he unsheathed his right-hand claws. "Some trick, huh?"
Lenore gaped at the shiny metal claws with awe and fear. She nodded. "You… have knives… in your hands?"
He nodded. "Yep."
Slowly, a smile creeped onto her face. "Cool." Her eyes turned from his claws to his face. "Can I touch them?" she asked eagerly.
"Oh, no… no…" Logan sheathed his claws before the girl had a chance to get her hands anywhere near them. "They're sharp. You'll cut yourself."
"No I won't!" Lenore protested, dropping her Barbies. "Please? Can I just touch them one time?" She put her hands together in a praying gesture and stuck out her bottom lip. "Pretty please?"
"No means no, kid." Logan growled.
Lenore picked her Barbie back up and began to brush her fingers through the doll's hair. "You don't have to be so mean about it," she whined, pouting her lip just the slightest bit.
He rolled his eyes.
"Do you wanna go to the library?" Lenore asked after a few moments of silence, turning from her doll to Logan.
He raised an eyebrow. "The library?"
She nodded.
"Why would you wanna go to the library? Don't kids like to ride bikes and climb trees and stuff?"
She shrugged. "I guess some kids like to do that stuff, but I like the library. It's quiet and it smells nice. Besides, Dr. McCoy's there. He's really nice."
"Whatever you want. I've got nothing better to do."
Lenore smiled and hopped off of the bed. "Let's skedaddle!"
[xxxxx]
The library, as usual, was cooler than the rest of the building. When Logan stepped inside, he felt and immediate wave of cold air rush over him. Unintelligible whispers could be heard from throughout the library, but for the most part it was quiet.
He followed Lenore to a secluded area in one of the far corners of the expansive library, where two leather chairs and a lamp seemed to be reserved for them.
"You can wait here." Lenore whispered to him. "I'm going to find a book."
He nodded, and in an instant Lenore was out of sight. He turned to one of the nearby bookshelves and began to skim the titles. It seemed he was in the history section of the library, because the book titles ranged everywhere from "Rulers of the Ancient World" to "The War that Made America".
"Looking for anything in particular?" His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, and Logan turned to greet Dr. Hank McCoy – Beast.
"Hey, Hank." Logan greeted, smiling slightly. "Don't you have classes this time of the day?"
Hank scrunched his eyebrows together. "Logan, you must've lost track of time. It's almost six o'clock." He gestured to a clock that hung on the wall, and sure enough it read 5:58.
"Oh," Logan said, shocked that it was this late. "You're right – I must've lost track. I've been a bit out of it lately."
Hank nodded understandingly. "May I ask what I have done to deserve the honor of being graced with your presence?" He placed his hand on Logan's shoulder lightly, guiding him away from the bookshelves and back toward the sitting area he had previously been in.
"It's not what you did," Logan explained as they both sat down. "Lenore wanted to come here. I didn't know that kids her age could even read."
"I'm sure you'd be surprised what children Lenore's age can do." Hank said, chuckling. There was a bit of silence as his eyes scanned what little of the library they could see from their position. "Did you see where Lenore ran off to? I wouldn't want her getting lost in this big library again."
Logan shook his head. "No. She said she was looking for a book or something, so she'll be back in a few minutes. I'm not too worried about her."
Hank smiled. "Well, in that case, there's something that I would like to show you."
Logan raised his eyebrow, somewhat skeptically. "I'm a little scared."
"Oh, I'm promise, it's very very intriguing…" Hank continued. "I received a package and letter today, and I shared it with one of my classes. I think you'll find it very fascinating…" As he was speaking, Hank had been leading Logan out past the bookshelves and over to the front desk of the library.
He stepped behind the desk and pulled out a small, square cardboard box. He also pulled out a microscope from one of the drawers and plugged it in. "I tell you, it's the most amazing thing I've seen in years!"
[xxxxx]
Lenore was lost in thought.
She looked up at the many books crammed into the shelves, but stuck to only looking at the ones she could reach, for obvious reasons. She strolled down the aisles, her fingers glazing over the spines of each book, waiting until a title caught her attention.
"Need some help?"
The redhead turned round slowly to meet an unfamiliar face. He was tall, and handsome, with short blond hair and bright blue eyes. When he saw Lenore's surprised reaction, a dazzling white smile flashed across his face before quickly disappearing.
He took a step toward Lenore and held out his hand. "Hi. My name's Warren. You must be new here."
She shook his hand delicately. "My name is Lenore. I got here a few weeks ago."
Again, Warren smiled his stunning smile. "Oh, so you're Lenore. I've heard a lot about you, y'know. You're older than I pictured you to be."
Lenore nodded, and she could feel the blood begin to rush to her cheeks as an awkward silence crept upon their conversation.
"So, have you found what you're looking for yet?" he asked, breaking the silence.
She looked over at the bookshelves, then back up at Warren. "No, not yet..."
"I'm sure I can help with that." he said, stepping close to her, but looking at the bookshelf. "Right now you're in the mystery section, so we should start with that. Are you looking for a mystery story?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Just a good book."
Warren looked down in thought. "Hmm…" He looked up abruptly and smiled. "Have you ever read The Hound of the Baskervilles?"
Lenore shook her head.
"Well, it's a Sherlock Holmes novel, and it's very good. It's about a family–"
He was cut off by Lenore. "That's very nice of you, but I think I'd be better off on my own." She meant to be polite, but her voice came out a bit harsh.
Warren nodded. "Okay. Well, I hope you find something." With that, he turned and headed in the other direction.
"Wait!" Lenore called, and Warren turned around and gave her an expectant look. She took a step forward. "Where are you going?"
He gave a quick glance down to his watch, then back up to Lenore. He shrugged. "Well, it's about dinnertime, so I was thinking about heading out to get something to eat."
"Oh," she said quietly, and looked down at her feet.
Warren shifted his feet. After a few seconds of silence, he stepped a bit closer. "Y'know, you could some with me if you want."
Lenore looked up, surprised, but happy. She smiled brightly and her eyes widened. "Can I really?"
He shrugged, but smiled nevertheless. "Yeah, sure. It's not like there's much to do around here anyways." He gestured for her to follow him, and Lenore scurried to his side.
"Are you sure?" she asked as they emerged from the rows of bookshelves and out near the entrance to the library.
Looking down at Lenore beside him, Warren nodded. "Why not? You didn't eat dinner already, did you?"
She shook her head.
"Well, then there's no reason why you can't tag along." He led them out of the library and into the halls, which were virtually deserted on account of the time.
Lenore clung to Warren's side, quickly scurrying beside him in order to keep up with his long strides. She continuously glanced up at his angelic features, but his gaze was fixed upon the path ahead.
Once they reached the courtyard, Warren led Lenore to a garage filled with cars and other vehicles.
"Which one is yours?" she asked, looking down the row of various cars.
Warren stopped at a shiny black sedan and rubbed the hood of it with his sleeve. "This one." he said proudly
Lenore touched the odd symbol at the head of the car that looked like a cross with a circle around it. "It's very shiny." she commented, smiling.
"Thanks." he said dryly. "Hop in."
Lenore took the front passenger's seat while Warren adjusted his mirror and turned on some old music with a man singing. Being too small for the big black leather seats, Lenore felt awkward, but once they were out on the road she had figured out how to adjust her seat to fit her comfortably.
"So what are you in the mood for?" Warren asked once they had reached a busier part of town, away from the institute.
"I dunno." Lenore said with a shrug, gazing out at a young couple strolling along with a dog and baby stroller.
"There's this quaint little restaurant I know called Annabelle's, not too far from here, and they serve the tastiest wedding soup I have ever had."
"That sounds nice." Lenore said, pulling herself away from the window as they made a turn.
Warren sighed. "We might be a little underdressed, though. A sweatshirt and blue jeans isn't the ideal outfit for this place."
Turning back to the window, Lenore frowned. "Oh." She paused, and glanced back at Warren. "Where are we going, then?"
"Hold on." he said, and made a sharp right turn. "I have an idea."
[xxxxx]
Warren pulled the car smoothly into an open parking space outside of a long row of brick buildings with large glass windows and stepped out of the car.
"Where's the restaurant?" Lenore asked, also stepping out of the big black car. She looked down the row of shops and stores, but none of them advertised food in their windows.
"I have something else in mind." Warren said, leading Lenore into a store with lots of pretty clothing in the windows.
Inside, it was a warm haven from the windy November day outside. The shop was large and spacey, with lots of dresses and expensive-looking clothing that lined the walls on mannequins. Other dresses were hanging in rows throughout the store and in no particular order.
Almost immediately, a small round woman barely taller than Lenore came rushing up to them. Her hands were jittery, and there were lots of long beads that hung loosely around her neck.
"Young Mr. Worthington!" she exclaimed, her tanned and wrinkled face crinkling when she smiled. "It's so nice to see you again! And who might this lovely young lady be?" she turned toward Lenore and her smile broadened.
"This here is the reason for our visit today." Warren said, wrapping an arm around Lenore's shoulders. "Her name is Lenore."
"Oh, Lenore! What a lovely name! That was my grandmother's name, you know." she smiled again and touched Lenore's arm with a soft hand. "Yes, yes… a lovely name indeed."
"Well, Marge, we just need some casual evening attire for my friend here – with accessories, of course." Warren said.
Marge nodded. "Yes, yes. Can do, can do. Right this way, dear." She grabbed Lenore's wrist and guided her through the rows of clothing.
Every once, she would pick out a random dress and hold it up to Lenore, then mutter something under her breath and put it back. Finally, she chose a nice white dress and instead of muttering, she smiled.
Again she grabbed Lenore's wrist and pulled her to the back of the store, where there were several changing rooms lined against the wall. She shoved the dress into Lenore's hands and pushed her into one of the cramped rooms.
"Hurry, hurry!" Marge insisted, and rushed back out to where Warren was stand.
Lenore hurriedly changed into the dress, and stopped to look at herself in the mirror. It was a sundress, almost completely white, aside from the lacy flowers that bordered the bottom of the skirt. It was sleeveless – something new for her – but it was still comfortable and she was satisfied. She adjusted the straps a bit, then stepped out of the changing room, where Warren and Marge stood waiting.
Marge was ready with three pairs of white sandals that she commanded Lenore to try on. The second pair of sandals were the only ones that fit, so Marge scurried off with the other two pairs, only to return with a tray of jewelry in her hands.
She had Lenore try on earrings and bracelets and necklaces until she decided that she had found the perfect combination.
When she was finished, Marge smiled and stepped back to admire her piece of art. "You look so beautiful, so beautiful…"
Warren was smiling, too, but Lenore just looked down at the giant ring on her finger and fumbled with it until she forced herself to be comfortable with the way it weighed down on her hand.
"Now," Warren said to Marge after a moment or two of admiring Lenore. "How much will this cost?" He took out a nice black leather wallet from his pocket and opened it up, revealing a thick wad of cash and more than several credit cards.
"Let me see…" Marge said to herself before turning to Lenore and calculating the price of each item in her head. "That comes to about five-hundred and twenty dollars." she said and turned back to Warren.
At the sound of that much money, Lenore's eyes bulged out from her head. She hadn't even seen that much money in her entire life, let alone someone spending that much on her.
Warren just nodded and pulled out a shiny gold card. "Credit?" he asked.
Whatever that means.
"Of course!" Marge said, still smiling broadly. She led Warren over to the cash register along the side of the store, and Lenore followed.
As the two adults were discussing prices and money and such, Lenore's eyes wandered over to the large windows at the front of the store. Outside, the sky was growing darker with every passing moment. She looked down at her sleeveless sundress and wondered how it was supposed to keep her warm in this gloomy weather.
"Hey," Lenore said abruptly and louder than she had intended. Marge and Warren looked at her expectantly. "Is this sundress going to keep me warm at all?" she asked.
"Would you like a sweater, dear?" Marge asked, and before Lenore could answer, a thin grey sweater was being pushed onto her shoulders. She ripped the price tags off, and just smiled. "Oh, you look lovely, lovely…"
Warren just frowned. "How much for the sweater?" he asked, pulling out his wallet again.
"Oh no, no…" Marge said with another bright smile. "This one's on me…"
He smiled. "Thanks again, Marge."
"Oh, any time! Any time!" she giggled as she escorted her two customers to the door. "Tell your father I say hello, okay?"
Warren nodded as they exited. "Will do, Marge."
"Do you know her well?" Lenore asked when they had gotten into the car.
"Who, Marge?" Warren replied as he started the engine. "Her husband and my father are buddies. I've known her since I was little. Her son and I were friends when we were young." He backed the car out of its parking space and pulled out onto the road.
"Wait!" Lenore shouted suddenly, startling Warren and making him swerve the car. "What about my other clothes? We forgot them!"
Warren scoffed and readjusted himself in the seat. "Darling, you won't need those clothes anymore."
Lenore pouted her lip. "That was my favorite shirt."
"If you want, I'll buy you a new one." he said after a bit of silence, and glanced at Lenore.
She looked at him skeptically. "Really?" she asked, and raised an eyebrow.
Warren glanced back and nodded. "Really." he confirmed.
Lenore smiled and turned back toward the window, beyond which various shops and stores were passing them by.
[xxxxx]
"… and if you looked at this one, you can see how the human cell and the mutant cell react differently when…"
Logan was extremely bored. Somehow, Hank always had a way of turning a decent conversation into a lesson on genealogy, or physics, or something else that Logan had no comprehension of.
"Here, Logan, look at this slide."
Doing as he was told, Logan put his eye to the telescope and looked at bunch of multicolored dots and circles that he didn't understand.
"Do you see that?" Hank asked once Logan took his eye off of the telescope.
See what? Logan thought. "Yep, I see it." he said.
Hank smiled. "Isn't it amazing?"
Are you kidding me? "Sure is, Hank."
"These slides were sent to me by my good friend Dr. Ronald Kim. He works in medicine at the Mayo Clinic, and he's recently been leading a study that researches how diseases affect humans and mutants differently."
Sounds like a real interesting guy. "Sounds like a real interesting guy."
"He is! We met back at…" Hank paused when he noticed Logan's uninterested expression. "Oh, you're being sarcastic, aren't you?"
Logan nodded. "I'm surprised that you didn't catch on until now."
"Well," Hank huffed as he began to collect all of his slides and return them to their box. "Perhaps it would do you well to try and broaden your scope of interests. Cigars, beer and fighting don't do too well on a résumé." he said smartly before picking up his things and disappearing behind a bookshelf.
Logan rolled his eyes and strolled off in the other direction. "Drama queen." he muttered beneath his breath.
Suddenly, he looked up and realized something. Where was Lenore? She had been gone a while and…
Recklessly, Logan rushed around the huge library, looking up and down every aisle for the little redhead. She was nowhere in sight.
"Kitty!" Logan whispered loudly once he set eyes on a small round-faced brunette. It wasn't a big surprise to see her in the library considering the type of student she was.
Kitty stopped in her tracks and turned toward Logan, who was still approaching her. "Logan," she said, slightly surprised. "I didn't think that you even knew libraries existed." she said sarcastically, hugging her pile of books to her chest.
"Ha-ha. Very funny." he replied dryly. "Have you seen a redhead around here? Looks about thirty, about ye high?" He lifted his hand to show Lenore's approximated height.
"Yeah, yeah… I think I saw her. Was she wearing a pink T-shirt and jeans?"
"Yeah, that's her. Where was she headed?"
Kitty shrugged. "I think they were saying something about dinner, but I wasn't paying that much attention, anyway."
"They?" Logan asked earnestly. "She was with somebody?"
Kitty furrowed her brow, but nodded. "Yeah. She was with Mr. Worthington." She paused. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, seeing the annoyance in Logan's face.
He shook his head, but his upper lip curled. "No. Everything's alright." With that, he stomped off, headed toward the exit.
The restaurant Annabelle's, appearing in this chapter, is based upon Isabel's, a cafe located in Avalon, NJ. I was originally going to call it Isabel's, but we already have a character named Isabelle and I didn't want the story to be any more confusing than it already is.
I apologize for all of the cheesiness and fluff in this chapter.