-December 31st, 11:40 P.M.-

Laura glanced down at the screen on her cell phone that read out the time to her. She was already very late for meeting Julian; she had been expected at his home an hour ago or more. However, she had been held up by the delays on the trains and a high volume of people all around the city, filtering their way in and around Times' Square frustratingly. She did not care about traditions like that, preferring to spend a quiet night welcoming in the new year with him.

When she saw that she had very little time left after she exited the subway, she began to run toward the area where he lived, her bag hitting against her shoulder. Left and right she swerved, avoiding couples on the street and people heading to bars to continue their celebrations. More than once, the stench of alcohol and vomit filled her nose and she wanted to move off to the side of the road to throw up herself.

She took another look at her phone and was pleased with the time that she'd made. A brisk five minute run had been all that she needed, and his street was in sight now. It would only take two minutes of walking before she arrived at his apartment building. Feeling good about not letting him down entirely, Laura passed the small parking lot where Julian paid to keep his car parked, as did the other people in his building.

"In a hurry, X?"

Any good feeling that she had immediately vanished and she felt very much like her heart had leaped up into her throat. She wouldn't say the woman's name, she wouldn't, she wouldn't. 'I won't' became a mantra, a broken record, played on repeat in her head. Yet it was involuntary, and bubbled up from her throat like a scream would for a normal person.

"Kimura," It came out as more of a breath, a strangled whisper. She turned to look, gripping the strap of her bag tightly enough for her knuckles to turn white. There she was; leaned up against Julian's nice new red car, just like she owned it. She was still in the same uniform that she'd always been wearing, kevlar and treated leather.

Kimura's eyes met hers, synthetically altered yellow to naturally perfect green. Her mouth twitched into a wide smile; Laura was mildly surprised that she hadn't altered her teeth as well, so that they formed several sharp rows like those of a shark. That was how they were in her dreams anymore.

"Got a date?" Kimura pushed herself up off of the car and walked over to her. Where were the other people? Laura spun her head around from left to right but there was no one there on that stretch of street. If she screamed, it would be taken for a drunken partygoer, she was sure. When she twisted her head back to look at Kimura, it was just in time for her to see the fist heading for her nose.

Crack! Her nose snapped out of place in an instant and the elbow jabs to her neck and stomach were just as quick. Kimura grabbed her hair and slammed her face into her knee, breaking her nose even further.

"Such a shame you're gonna have to cancel." She tossed Laura onto the gravel and flipped out a cell phone, barking orders for a transport. So that Laura didn't try to run, she slammed her foot onto Laura's back while she was down.

It had been a long time since she had been forced to do this, yet it felt as natural as if it had just been yesterday; Laura tensed the muscles in her arms and popped her claws out, two metal ones in each hand. They sliced through the skin with great speed, and it stung horribly for a moment. It was futile to attempt to harm Kimura with them, she knew, but that wasn't what she was trying for. All she had to do was reach, and...

With a swipe of her arm, Laura cut through a nearby light pole like it was butter, severing the metal and wires inside with ease. The lot went dark, lit with only sparks and cracks of electricity and the light from nearby buildings, and it took Kimura only a second to jump back away from the falling pole and off of Laura, who rolled out of the way. There was a crunch as the pole landed on someone's car, but they had no alarm enabled, and the car did not belong to Julian. It was not of her concern.

Laura tried to run, but Kimura yanked her back by her arm and pulled it out of her socket, slamming her against her boyfriend's car. Her claws cut right through the door, leaving two long gouge marks. Laura winced; she knew that Julian took some measure of pride in the vehicle, and while he would not force her to pay for the damage, she would do so anyhow at her own insistence.

"You little bitch!" Kimura threw Laura's head back against someone's Mazda and forced her head through the glass. This car /did/ have the car alarm activated; Kimura leaped away from the sound just as the transport pulled up. A man leaped out and shouted; Laura could barely hear for the blood in her ears.

"We have orders to abort! Leave the little shit!" he cried. Kimura scowled and swore but left her anyhow; they must have been beginning to attract attention. They were gone within seconds, leaving Laura to pull herself away from the blaring, bloody car, and to retract her claws while her wounds healed. She hurried away from the scene herself.

'She can hurt Julian, we were too close, she could know where he is. She could have been watching him the entire time.' Hurting Julian was something that was not an option. She stumbled slowly along the sidewalk, heading into his building after using her jacket to wipe off a considerable about of blood. For good measure, she shook the glass from her hair and attempted to look strong.

He had to stay safe. But how could she ensure that? She couldn't ask him to leave the city, where he had friends and was going to college and where he could get a great career. She couldn't ask him to give up absolutely everything. When she reached his apartment door, and heard the sound of the TV inside, as well as what was probably him pacing, she knew the answer.

She took a moment to rest her forehead against his door. Laura covered her mouth to choke back a sob, and then took a deep breath before twisting the knob and letting herself in.

To keep Julian safe, she had to break up with him.

- May 17th, 2:53 AM-

Even asleep, Julian kept himself close to her. His strong, muscled arms were wrapped around her shoulders every night without fail. He would always kiss Laura when he woke up and saw that she was awake before him, and he'd kiss her even when she was still asleep. The closeness was something that she cherished with him.

So Laura cuddled close to him on this morning like she did every other, and she laid her forehead on his shoulder and smelled his body wash and the laundry detergent and the fabric softener. The radio was playing softly; Laura could make out a piano piece through the light filter of static. She wasn't sure what the piece was, but it was soft and quiet and she quite liked it.

She'd just begun to doze off as the piece ended, so she missed the small advertisement, spoken in a calm voice.

"Have you ever been through a scenario that you wanted to forget?"

- January 1st, 9:45 A.M.-

"Met a person who you want to erase from your life completely? Now you can," Laura murmured as she read aloud to herself from the back of a man's newspaper. It was a simple advertisement, with blue font and a smiling photo of a blonde woman. "and Frost Inc. can help."

Yes. They couldn't use Julian against her if she didn't remember him. They'd have no reason to assault him. Aside from killing him herself, this was the best way that she could keep him safe. The address on the advertisement showed that it wasn't far from her current location, either. When the bus reached its stop, she hurried off and made her way through the cold street to find the clinic herself. If she was lucky, it would be open.

Keeping herself safe was a priority as well; she mingled in and out of larger groups of people. Even if Kimura saw her, if she tried anything, there would be too many witnesses for her to complete her operation smoothly. She moved with the crowds until she reached the clinic, whose door was mercifully open.

Laura stepped inside from the noisy morning street. Once the door closed behind her, it was completely silent, save for a water feature on the receptionist's desk. The entire clinic was full of nothing but a calming air. At the desk was a girl, probably the same age as her, was typing away at a computer. She had pink clips holding her short, blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Is it true?" Laura asked aloud. The girl looked up; there was no one else in the clinic that she could be addressing. She smiled, finished whatever she was typing, and turned her full attention to Laura.

"Of course it's true. Dr. Frost is a miracle worker. She's used studies on telepathic mutations and invented her own technology to mimic it. She can completely erase a person from your memory, with no trace left behind. All it takes is two visits to the clinic, one for a physical examination and one to map out the memories that need erasing, and then we visit your place of residence while you sleep to do the erasure. Once you wake up in the morning, you don't remember anything at all."

Laura chewed on her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"When is your soonest available appointment?"

The girl checked her computer again, fingers flying over the keys just as quickly as Julian's did when she'd seen him on his laptop.

"Um, well..."

"That won't be necessary, Phoebe. I'll see her now." A tall, blonde woman, the same from the photograph in the newspaper ad, stepped out through a door. She smiled in a way that made it seem like she knew every secret you could have.

"I am Dr. Emma Frost," She extended her hand for Laura to shake, which she did. "We were expecting quite an influx of patients for the New Year; it seems that you have the honor of being our first. Now, come along," Dr. Frost held the door open for Laura to walk back down a hallway that led to an examination room.

"Let's begin to erase whatever blight you wish to be removed from your life."