Charles left Lilia alone. She huddled in the white space of her mind, replaying any memory she could find. Her eyes studied the screen intently, drinking in the happy memories of her childhood. The one she froze on, studied intently, was the only one she had of Erik rescuing her. She avoided looking at the man chained in front of her and tried to only focus on Erik.
Unconsciously, she began to wander through the halls. People froze as she walked slowly past them, turning their heads so that they could watch her. When she passed Erik he began to follow her. He let his hand hover an inch above her arm, directing her so that she would not injure herself.
"Erik?" Erik turned to glance back at Charles. "What is wrong?"
"I don't know. Can you talk to her?" He sounded frantic, his eyes flickering from Charles to Lilia. He had managed to stop her. She was swaying slightly.
Charles pressed his hand to his head, focusing on Lilia's mind. A wall pushed him back, stronger than anything he had experienced from her before. Even through the wall, he could see her small figure in the room she had showed him. "She has a wall built up. There is no way to break through it. However, I can tell you that she is reliving memories. She's safe."
Erik nodded. "Will she be able to take herself out?"
"I believe so. She just doesn't seem to want to right now."
Erik didn't leave her. It was only when she had finally settled back in her room that he left, locking the door behind him. When she finally left her memories at the end of the day, Charles was the first to know. Immediately he told Erik, who met her as she stepped out of her room.
Lilia froze the moment she saw him, one hand pulling through her hair. Her sweater was pulled over her wrists, almost covering her hands. She lowered her eyes so that she didn't have the threat of looking into his eyes, even if his eyes followed her.
"Hello Lilia. Are you alright?" Erik wanted to step forward and pull her into his arms, keeping her save from everything. She seemed to sense that, drawing herself into the smallest space she could. Her face flushed.
"I'm fine." She wanted to escape. Every time her eyes met Erik's she remembered what she knew to be true, that she was disgusting. It felt as though she could hear his voice saying that in her mind, teasing her and laughing. "Can you please move? I would prefer not to be stuck in this hallway forever."
"I want to talk to you Lilia. About earlier."
Her eyes flashed dark and her head shot up to match him. "I don't. Not right now." Even with her gaze hardening, her voice wavered. The hand in her hair was shaking slightly.
"Lilia." He reached a hand out and she drew away. Shaw's face flashed before her eyes, a bloodied needle in the hand.
She shrunk even more into herself. "Don't touch me." It was becoming difficult for her to breath. "Get away from me."
Erik dropped his hand and stepped aside. His eyes followed her as she slipped past him, crossing her hands over her chest. It took most of her concentration to keep the memory room away. Her eyes faded slightly as she focused, not noticing Raven until she had ran right into her.
"Lilia!" Raven's voice shocked Lilia back, the wall weakly formed. "You're looking better than earlier."
"What do you mean?" Lilia's hand loosened slightly from her chest.
Raven shrugged. "Earlier you were wandering around the house looking dazed. You didn't react when people tried to talk to you. Eventually Erik started walking around with you to be certain you didn't run into anything. Charles told us not to worry and that you were just getting used to a new aspect of your mutation."
The blush formed again, going deeper than before. "Where the others talking about it? Did they say anything?"
"A few of us were wondering if you were alright. But we didn't really talk about it. Why?" She tilted her head slightly.
"Just wondering." Lilia stepped past Raven and walked away. Her face was deep red again.
Erik appeared a moment later. "What did Lilia want to talk to you about?"
Raven laughed slightly. "She didn't want to talk about anything. We kinda ran into each other." He nodded and moved past her. Raven shook her head in worry. Lilia had clearly wanted to get away from Erik, and Erik clearly wanted to find her. They weren't the type to play hide and seek. Something was wrong.
Lilia had succeeded in finding a space to hide. It was a room at the top of the house, covered in dust and cobwebs. She curled herself behind a sheet covered chair in the corner, completely hidden from view. Her entire mind was focused on forming the wall as strong as she could. The moment she lessened her concentration the smallest amount cracks formed and memories came through.
Occasionally, when the cracks were there, she could hear Charles calling out to her. His voice was faint, but there was no denying it was there. She would begin forming the wall again with those sections.
The door to the room creaked open. Charles stepped into the room, looking around it. He heard a faint crying. Carefully, he walked towards the chair and looked over the back.
She was curled there, her eyes wide and staring at the wall in front of her. She was rocking back and forth slightly, shaking. There were a few tears falling down her face. As he watched another one formed with a whimper.
He touched her shoulder gently. She jumped, but didn't move. "Are you alright Lilia?" his voice was quiet.
"No," she clutched herself tighter. "Because you showed me that room I haven't been able to block it out again. I've been trying, but it doesn't work."
Charles joined her behind the chair, sliding down against the wall. He held out his hands. "May I?" she nodded and leaned forwards slightly, letting him place his hands on either side of her head. Both closed her eyes. It only took a few seconds for Charles to form the wall permanently, pulling away.
Lilia looked much more relaxed. Her arms loosened from around her. "Thank you." She tilted her head. "Why are you here?"
"I was looking for you to make sure you were alright."
She pulled a hand through her hair. "Did Erik send you?"
"Erik was the one to tell me to look for you, yes." He sighed. "He's worried for you."
"Of course he is. All he wants to do is talk to me about the kiss." She sounded clearly annoyed.
"He also wants to make sure you are okay because when you saw him you looked terrified and then you ran. He knew that something was wrong."
Lilia sighed. "Do I have to go talk to him?"
Charles nodded. "I think that would be the best thing to do." He reached out a hand and pulled her standing with him. "Do you have any specific place you want to meet him?"
She shifted back and forth on her feet. "The lake."
He nodded and the two of them left the room. Charles was already contacting Erik, who was already halfway to the lake. They separated at the doorway to the outside, Lilia walking to the lake and Charles watching in the doorway.
Erik turned his head to watch her approach. The sweater was no longer covering her hands, but she still had her arms crossed across her chest. "Hello Lilia." Her head was looking down at the ground.
"Hello Erik." They began to walk around the lake, keeping a large distance between the two. Slowly, Lilia's arms dropped from around her chest. "I understand you wanted to talk to me."
"Yes, I do." He glanced at her. "I wanted to be certain you were alright."
She smirked. "I'm fine."
"What happened earlier? When you came out of your room? You seemed terrified at something and you still do. Please tell me. I want to help." He stopped and turned to look at her. Lilia did the same.
Lilia's eyes flickered over his shoulder. She didn't want to look him in the eyes. "When I saw you I had just gotten out of my memories. They were still…lingering. You blended with a memory I had of Shaw." There was a small tear in the corner of her eye. She had started shaking again. It seemed to happen every time someone mentioned Shaw.
Erik pulled her into his arms, resting his head on the top of her head. She burrowed herself into his shoulder. He kissed her on her head softly, stroking her hair gently. He hated that she had seen Shaw in him. He hated that he had made her run from him in fear.
"I'm sorry." he whispered.
"It's not your fault. If anything, it's his." She pulled away from him, but kept her hand intertwined with his. "I feel I should tell you my mutation. Even if you know already, I have to tell you myself." He didn't know why she suddenly wanted to, but he didn't say anything. "I can control pain."
She prepared herself for him to pull away, for him to run and tell her to stay away. Instead, he squeezed her hand slightly. "You don't have to say anything else."
A/N: This chapter is one of the shorter ones, but I kinda like it. Thank you for reading this. I get so happy when I see a review with someone wanting me to continue; it makes me rush to post something new as quick as I can! Thank you so much.