Sorry if it takes too long time between the chapter, but school-work takes too much out of me. I'll try to keep it updated as much as I can, but I don't promise anything...
Arriving at the office, the professor opened the door and wheeled inside. He gestured to Logan and John to sit down in the chairs in front of his desk while he placed himself behind it. He then studied the two of them quietly for a while. Then he gave up a deep sigh.
"I honestly have no idea where to start with this" he said looking in the air between them.
"I know what happened from both of you're point of view, but that doesn't explain…" his voice died.
"You could start with asking the kid how he did it, and what the hell he did do." Logan said. For that he earned a stern look from the professor and a death glare from John.
"Logan, if I thought it would help I would give you detention." Logan looked like didn't know weightier to laugh like a maniac or growl a long list of words no child in the world should use. But before he could do any of it, the professor continued;
"But I honestly don't expect it to work. So instead you will clean the Blackbird twice a week alone for two months." Logan gaped at him, even John thought it was a bit hard.
"I don't take it easy on those who threat my students." The professor added with a bit of an evil smirk.
'Who said an old man can't have a bad mood when you wake him in the middle of the night' John then heard someone mutter in his head.
"Now, would you be so kind to leave, I'd like to speak with John between two eyes." This left Logan with nothing more to say, so he did as asked; stood up and left.
"So, John, I understand that you're still confused so I'll explain this as well as I can;
It seems to me as you are on the line between the class 4 and class 5 on the mutant power scale, and it obviously comes out as the most in a high emotional moment, just like when it first started. Now that I've seen the memories from both of you I can only make the conclusion that when you finally get to the highest stage, you'll be able to create the fire on top of controlling it. I can't tell you how you did it though, you were so confused and an emotional blur at the moment it happened so impossible to get a clear reading. Only you can find out how to use you're gift.
This, though, means not that you will be able to throw you're lighter away the next danger-room season. It's going to take time and training to get so high, but we now know it is possible. It's you're choice how hard work you want to put into this." The professor got quiet to watch John's reaction. John though, didn't really felt for answering, he wasn't sure of what to say. The professor seemed to understand.
"You can leave for bed if you want; we can talk in the morning or whenever you feel for it." John just nodded and slowly stood. Thinking through what he just had heard, he walked out of the office, leaving the professor inside. He then stared where he was before the Wolverine had interrupt, walking through the mansion without a goal. He didn't want to go back to his and Bobby's bedroom, where the other boy probably waited for him. Usually when John got into trouble, Bobby was always there for him, freezing the fire before it destroyed something, standing behind him in an argument or just being there to hold him whenever he needed comfort.
John's back hit the wall with a thud and he slid down until he was sitting on the floor, his head on his knees. God, he missed having someone to hug. Or to hug him. But that was all lost now, he couldn't turn back, he told himself. The empty hole Bobby had left was even bigger now, the flame in his heart was gone; it had all been used on Logan. John hugged himself, trying to get smaller so he could pretend he didn't exist. The first tears started to slip trough his closed eyelids and he bit his lip trying to hold them back. It didn't work. Soon he was sitting there in the empty corridor, trying to find comfort in a cold wall and in the shadows. In his mind, a shell of stone surrounded him, blocking him from the rest of the world, hiding the real him so that none could see him for who he was. What did it matter that the whole building was full of people, nobody wanted him, nobody cared if he sat there until the morning, when he'd be told of for playing with his lighter or not knowing the right answers in class, for not pretending to be someone he wasn't.
John suddenly found himself thinking about the dog he'd known for the short period he lived on the street. It had been a big dog, John never gave him a name, just called him pal. Every night he'd fallen asleep with the dog next to him. Pal had taken care and protected him, too much in the end. After "stealing" someone's precious garbage, they got the police after them. The bullet had been meant for John, but Pal had been the one to pay the price. He died later that night in the arms of his only friend and left a world that had never cared. The lump in John's throat grew even bigger at the thought of the friend who'd given so much and that would never be there again. And people wondered why he'd freaked out when that police shot Logan at the Drakes. It was then that he'd taken revenge for his murdered friend. John felt the tears slow down as the whole inside of him grew dark. He felt his mind getting cold and uncaring, just as he'd learned himself was the safest way of not getting hurt by anybody. He concentrated on forcing his feelings back into a place inside him where he could lock them in and get away from them. He used his sleeve to get rid of the tears on his cheeks. 'This is stupid, you're stupid!' he told himself. 'Crying doesn't do any good at all; it doesn't even ease the pain so you can as well quit acting like a child. Grow up you useless little fool…'
Suddenly, there was a knocking on the window. John looked up to see a big white bird flying right outside, looking in at him. No, not a bird; Warren! John quickly got up and opened the window so that the other boy could climb in. Then he closed it as fast as he could, it was getting colder quickly now. For a moment the both mutants just looked at each other.
"How…" John then begun.
"I don't know, just knew you were here and needed someone." Warren looked a little surprised himself, but John knew better.
"The professor." He muttered. Warren didn't smile either; he probably thought the old man was getting a little too deep into his mind.
"How come you didn't walk back to you're room? It is pretty late." The Angel then pointed out.
"I don't want to go back." John simply stated. He knew this wasn't helping Warren so he, though he didn't liked it, continued.
"I argued with Bobby, sort of. I can't go back. Not now." He said, not looking at the other boy. This, though, seemed to be enough for Warren, who apparently thought that privacy was important.
"Well, if that's it, why don't you come and sleep I my room?" he asked. John looked up at him.
"I didn't see any extra bed when I was in you're room?" It was both a statement and a question.
"No, but I've found an extra mattress in the wardrobe if you don't mind sleeping on the floor…"
"Not at all, it's really nice of you." John interrupted, but Warren just smiled.
They walked in silence, both in their own thoughts. In Warren's room they found the mattress and a pair of blankets. There weren't any pillows, but Warren took one from the bed and threw at John.
"Don't drool on it." That simple comment eased up a lot of the tense feelings in the room.
John sat down on the mattress and put the blankets around himself; drinking in the warmth. Warren sat down on his bed and started fingering his cover.
"I know that it's none of my business," John looked up when Warren started to talk. "but is it my fault you started to argue? I mean, I saw the way he looked at me earlier."
John sighed. "Yeah, it is, kind of." Warren looked down. "I'm sorry" he said so quiet John almost didn't hear it.
"Don't. It's not you're fault and you know it!" John almost sounded angry but Warren still smiled at him. John then started to look worried and opened his mouth to continue, but the Angel stopped him.
"You don't have to tell me everything; I know we don't know each other that well."
"No, it's not that that's the problem. I've already let you come closer than I've let anybody for a long time. Not since Bobby… I've honestly no idea why… It's just, I don't know what to say, it's so much…"
"Maybe we should talk in the morning, you really need to sleep, anybody can see that. And it's Sunday tomorrow, so we have loads of time." Warren smiled weakly at him and John gave him a relived smile back. Weird how much he smiled this day he thought while he crawled deep down under the blankets. He fell asleep in seconds, having a few half-bad dreams that he didn't remember in the morning.
Please, tell me what you think. I really don't know if anyone is reading this, so I'm starting to wonder if I should bother to update... Just something that proves that someone's been here, please?