"Tom, I'm sorry. I told you when we first started dating that I might not be here long. There are people chasing me, mutants. I didn't want to see you hurt. I had barely escaped one of them earlier that day. That's why I left." Trying to get him to stop brooding, I changed the subject. "Did you send me that note?"
He continued staring at nothing, speaking half to himself, half to the world in general. "You were the sun in my eyes, Aria. I saw only you. You could have had any man in this school, even some of the teachers, but you chose me. My life was finally complete."
He lost his unfocused look and centered his gaze on me. "But then you left, tearing away my heart as you vanished down the road. I stood there for nearly an hour, straining for the faintest whisper of your cycle, praying you would come back to me."
He sighed again, and his gaze grew cold, cold enough to make me shiver and cause the few football players who hadn't turned away in embarrassment at his speech to turn away in fear. "You never returned. Now I have realized you would never return for me. So, why are you here?"
I was about to give him another placating, half-truthful explanation, when I saw a familiar head sweeping back and forth outside the window. Sabertooth peered through the window, glaring at any who dared meet his eyes. I felt my heart grow cold in fear. He was here for me.
Suddenly, thankfully, the bells rang, sending us back to class. I grabbed Tom and made my way into the classroom of a teacher who was on lunchroom duty, and as such, the place was blissfully empty. I closed the door behind me, and turned back to Tom. He was staring at me, as though he could burn his gaze into me. Though slightly afraid of him, I spoke. "If you recall, Thomas," (At my use of his full name, he winced, and broke his stare), "I told you the first day that we started dating that I would not stay for long, and that when I left, I would have no choice in the matter. You agreed to stay by me until then, and then forget about me. But as soon as I left, you broke that pact. You cannot accuse me of not warning you beforehand."
He glared at me, incensed. "Warning me? What about all the people I heard warning you about me? You were everything I had, Aria. And I intend to keep it that way." His words did not immediately penetrate my consciousness. But as he pushed me aside, and locked the door, I began to get worried. I slowly backed away from him, while he advanced on me. I fumbled for the panic alarm that Logan had made me take before he would let me go, But as I got my fingers on it, Tom pounced and tossed it out of my hands. I wrenched away, and the door burst open.