PLease review three reviews until I posted two more chapters.
I want to thanks my friends skullcandyeater and throw gloves at me , thank you xxxxx and to Remi and Alice , I hope we are always friends :D cause you guys are the best and are amazing
Suddenly a loud piercing stream of light exploded in Hayleigh's face, blinded by its brightness. Feeling disgruntled with her sleep and moaned for more sleep, but the devilish light of the sun begged for justice to win over her. She tried to open his eyes, adjusting to the dim bedroom light. How long have I've been asleep, Hayleigh thought. Feeling the cold floor surface against her feet as she stepped out of bed, her pyjamas bottom lowered bellowed her ankles. She yawned, the ocean breath batted against her skin as she remembered the past day. Though she was uncertain, the overcoming whelms to explore the mansion, even possibly finding a way to escape. She slowly pulled the door to a jar, peering down the hallways to see if it was safe. Since the coast was clear, leaning her nose against the frame of the door, rolling her eyes along the hallway. She breath a sigh of relief, though this was followed by a growl from her stomach
Okay, I need to remember where the kitchen was: Hayleigh thought as she tapped her head, trying to jog her memory. Against her better judgment, she opened the door and proceeded to walk down the carpeted hallway. Paintings and some exotic plants in various vases lined the hall. She felt almost as if she was being watched as she glanced over her shoulder. She proceeded to the right, hoping that her memory would kick in to help her find her way. She felt the brushes of the carpet rub against her as she walked faster. The corridor seemed almost like a mirror of the other part, the exactly same features. She walked farther down what seemed like endless corridor, she looked like a tourist lost from their group; clueless and unaware. And, she just hoped and prayed that no one would see. Oh, the humiliation she would feel if someone was watching, as she frantically swung her head around all possible ways to exist. But she seemed to quickly losing hope of finding a way out, she slowly hit her palm against her face.
Luckily just before she was about to lose hope, she came across the open landing that led to any elegant staircase. Slowly glancing across the landing, she saw huge glass windows overlooking the grounds, and a red carpet leading to different directions. Hayleigh slowly made her way towards it when she realised a much more practical solution; an elevator. The elevator seemed to stick out compared to the rest of the building, as it had a huge 'x' on it, she traced her hand across the symbol, remembering the day that she first saw that symbol. The door whooped open, revealing the inside of the elevator. The interior was simple, yet stylish. She slowly stepped into it: she examined the elevator. The door suddenly slammed shut, she rushed over to the door. She clenched her fist as she began to bang hard against the mental which began to hurt after a while.
A small pause in between her hitting, the elevator began excessively too. Jacinta hadn't actually meant to find the danger room that easily, but she was always confused as to what led were around the mansion, and obviously she'd made it in there by accident. Looking around, she kept close to the edge of the room, hoping someone else would enter and take the brunt of whatever happened to come at them. Stepping back a few, Jace heard a voice behind her - one that she could only remember too well. The corner of her lip curled upwards into a smirk and she called out to the man whom she knew as 'Wolverine.'
"It's not good to stalk little girls, eh Logan?" she called out, turning to face him finally. He ignored her, expression remaining unchanged as he spoke back to her. "It's not good to come in here unprepared now, is it kiddo? How about you get yourself training with your abilities, rather than that mouth o' yours, eh?"
The door slammed open again, then Hayleigh struck her head out to explore. the hallways were like sometime out of a sci-fiction movie. Mental, high- tect, and all the doors all had the same 'x' on them, she slowly glanced around the hallways as she walked farther down. She heard a familiar voice around the corner, she leaned against it and listen to the conversion. Logan suddenly lifted his head, smelling a new presence around them. He looked back down to Jacinta and grinned. "You've got company, kiddo. Perhaps I'll leave you to deal with them, eh?" he said, turning around as he began to walk away from her. Jacinta held out her arm to stop him, realising it was no use, and retracted her vectors before they got to him. "
Not today," she whispered to herself, feeling the blood begin to pour out of her nails underneath her gloves. "Who's there then?" she called, hoping it was Kitty so she could get in there quicker. Hayleigh slowly slid across the wall, trying to return to the elevator.
Oh great, it is the girl from yesterday Hayleigh thought, sliding further across the wall.
The door slammed open again, then Hayleigh struck her head out to explore. the hallways were like sometime out of a sci-fiction movie. Mental, high- tect, and all the doors all had the same 'x' on them, she slowly glanced around the hallways as she walked farther down. She heard a familiar voice around the corner, she leaned against it and listen to the conversion. Logan suddenly lifted his head, smelling a new presence around them. He looked back down to Jacinta and grinned. "You've got company, kiddo. Perhaps I'll leave you to deal with them, eh?" he said, turning around as he began to walk away from her. Jacinta held out her arm to stop him, realising it was no use, and retracted her vectors before they got to him. "
Not today," she whispered to herself, feeling the blood begin to pour out of her nails underneath her gloves. "Who's there then?" she called, hoping it was Kitty so she could get in there quicker. Hayleigh slowly slid across the wall, trying to return to the elevator.
Oh great, it is the girl from yesterday Hayleigh thought, sliding further across the wall.
Hayleigh moaned, as Jacinta called out. She felt her heart beating faster, drawing her breaths quickly. She froze. Jace turned her head towards where the elevator was, seeing Hayleigh once again. She grinned, raising her hand into a wave as she saw her. "Oh, Hay-Barn, how nice to see you again. You ready for what's coming?"
Hayleigh turned her head only to see the kind smiling face of Jacinta.
"Oh hey, I was trying to find the kitchen, now if you don't mind me, I think I might try again" Hayleigh smiled as she bolted towards the elevator. Grinning, Jacinta let the girl run a few feet before allowing her vectors to come up and out of her skin, shooting towards the girl as they finally grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. "Hey, you don't wanna leave me in here by myself now do you?" she laughed, looking out to where various things were beginning to appear out of the walls.
"Well,kinda, and I think you can do whatever this is on your own" Hayleigh said, struggling against the vectors. She felt the vectors almost pierce her skin, she grunted as she began to feel angry.
"Put me down" she screamed.
"I'm not putting you anywhere unless you agree to help me in here," she grinned, sending one of the vectors off to try and get at one of the lasers that came out near her.
"Just bloody help me, and I'll take you to the kitchen, yeah?"
"But i don't know want to do, this room is going to kill us" Hayliegh yelled, she duck as she tried to dodge the lasers.
"This is a freak show" she thought. As her stomach growled."It's not going to kill us if you just agree to help. I'm not putting in all of the effort you know," she grunted, putting the girl down as she used two of her vectors to lift herself up off the ground out of the line of one of the lasers.
" Okay ! Okay ! , i will help, just tell me what i have too do" Hayleigh said , as she dodge more laser, then a silence, she heard a swirling sound. she dare not to look around , as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She saw two spinning blades, draw close to her face, before she ran under Jacinta's Vectors.
"Ain't it obvious?" she laughed, watching the girl run under her vectors. For a smart kid, Hayleigh was acting pretty dumb.
"You think that's going to help you?" she asked, shifting her vector out of the way as she tried to avoid the spinning blades.
"Where the bloody Hell did Logan go?" she wondered, thinking aloud. "It'd be so much easier if he could get his arse into gear and think about someone other than himself for once."
" Okay ... Obviously it isn't that obvious, to normal people." she yelled run against the wall.
" Yes it will, cause i will be away from thoses" she pointed to the Blades and the lasers. She ran towards the door, and began to hit it very hard trying to force it opened, though after a short time, she just hit her head against the wall. Saying I am going to die, over and over again.
"Get over yourself kid," she called out, facing the lasers and blades by herself. She used one of the vectors to dismantle the blade from afar, using another to try and point the laser elsewhere.
"Come over here and get on with it, rather than feeling sorry for yourself." She hopped over another blade before being hit by a laser that sent her flying back into the wall. Hayleigh was in a fury rage, she felt the burning energy, the same that she had felt that day. The pulsing energy linger inside her, pushing through the cracks. She clenched her fists, her highlight spreading across her head, her eyes beginning to glow.
" STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO" She screamed. she began to floated a small distance above the ground.
"I'm not telling you nothing kid, but if you're not gonna at least try to save yourself, I might as well not bother." She sighed, holding her head for a minute as she got up and ran flat out towards another laser, hopping over it at the last second so that she could dismantle the thing.
Hayleigh felt the energy begin to spread throughout her body. she smirked as she ran towards the guns and lasers. slowly pausing, lifting her hand, releasing the energy through her hands.
"Happy now, " she yelled as more guns appeared." you have got to be kidding me"
Happy? Was the girl really asking about happiness at a time like this? Jace was never happy, which was probably why she was snaky and confident almost 100% of the time.
"Well, I don't know about you... But I'm certainly not kidding anyone at all," she shouted, pulling another gun off the wall, allowing it to shoot out its load before throwing it backdown to the ground.
Hayleigh formed her hands closer together as the energy pulsed together. She looked at jacinta.
"Fine, Let's finish this" she screamed, over the sound of the guns." and seriously who designed this thing "Jacinta laughed to herself, breaking other guns whilst dodging the different things that came at her. Turning around, she saw a blade come towards her head, and motioned to Hayleigh for some kind of help so that she didn't get decapitated.
Hayleigh saw a blade quickly heading off Jacinta's head, she paniced not knowing what to do. she pointed her hands together as the energy released in a large amount. the enregy caused her hair to fly everywhere as she shelided her eyes. the blade was turned to ash.
All the weapons were returned into the wall, or floor as the program was finished. Hayleigh fell to her knees in exhaustion.
Falling to her knees, Jacinta couldn't help but feel thankful for the girl who'd just helped her. "Cheers," she said slowly, her grin returning to her face.
Logan looked through the window, smirking at the two girls had god-knows-what sent towards them, almost being sliced in two on several occasions. "You know, they're doing well for kids," he called out to nobody in particular.
" Yes , they are, we must guide them logan, show them the right way to help use their xavier stated as he rolled in with storm.
" Ah Yes the child is doing well here" storm said nodded towards the woman beside the man in the wheelchair.
"Perhaps too good, should we make it harder for 'em? We know Crimson down there can take it, but what about new-meat? We can't assess her properly if she'd not being pushed." He looked to Xavier for some kind of back-up, but he barely nodded, too busy watching the girls in the danger room.
" Indeed but she seems heist about her powers, something that needs to be look at further." Xavier said pushed his fingers togther in thought.
" Yes Charles, but the child is just came here, we should give her time." Storm Suggested, glancing down at the girls.
Grunting, Logan continued to watch them down in the room. "Look at them Storm, they're fine. Just send in a few more guns to get 'em going, it's not like they can't handle it at all now, is it?"
" I agree Logan, but not yet just wait a moment" He said " I think Jacinta can handle it no problem but Hayleigh , we will have to see" Storm rised her eye brow at Logan.
" Logan , just look at them"
"I am lookin' at them in case you hadn't noticed. And to me, they're both lookin' pretty fine. Sure, Blondie in there can certainly hack it... who cares if shorty can't? They'll stick out for one another, it's just what girls do ain't it?" He turned around and eyed Storm, and almost mocking look in his eyes.
" Logan , How hard did you set this program to?" Xavier asked as He watch Hayliegh run to the other side of the room. She looked as if she was going to kill someone, Storm and Xavier exchanged glances as the program began to release the blades.
"Does it matter how hard I set it to? They're doing fine. Just watch them for a few more moments. I promise if they can't handle it, I'll go out of my way to help them. And seeing as that isn't what I set out to do, you'd better just keep looking." He was more than confident that they'd do it... they had to. Especially with that blonde in there with the attitude she had - what kind of a man would he look like if he went in there to try and help out someone like her?
Xavier and Storm watched as the girls battled th weapons, though it was mostly Jacinta at first, until... Xavier saw Hayleigh suddenly become engulfed by the energy like the same day he had met her. only this time, it was not as much energy to make her golden. Storm's eyes widened as a blade went for Jacinta's Head. Storm tried to reach for the off button but she stopped herself.
Logan grinned, his eyes widening as Jacinta's head was almost cut off. "Come on," he whispered to himself, willing Hayleigh to stop it. Of course, he would do anything to see the blonde girl in such a compromising position, and to see the ever-present smirk wiped of her face for even a second. The shorter girl however had managed to do something to the blade, as it was no longer there at all. "See what I mean?" he said finally, looking at the ash that covered the majority of Jacinta's torso.
" Yes , i see Logan, you seen to know how to work with those Children" Storm agreed .
Though the professor looked deep in thought, storm stood beside him.
" Charles, what are you thinking about?" storm asked as the girls finished the program.
"I'm thinking about how much of an asset they are to us, and how it would be if they were with Magneto. However, we've just got to be glad that they're still alive, no thanks to you Logan," he called out, looking over to the man that stood before him.
" I agree with that, Charles" Storm laughed as Logan's face frowned.
" The question is , what do we do now?, with her" strom pointed at Hayleigh, " Though i believe she and the other girl will be fast friends"
"We leave them," Charles said slowly. "We've got to let them develop themselves into something more, form a bond that will make them more powerful when they're together. Then we get them alone, and see what happens then."
" Okay charles, if you dont mind i have to go water the grounds" Storm said smiling as she waved leaving Xavier and Logan alone.
"Well thank God for that," Logan said finally, hearing Storm leave the room.
"Do we watch them or not?" he asked the professor, pulling his hands out of his pockets.
"I say, we leave them be, though you may peer if you want , Logan" Xavier chuckled, slowly watching the girls, deep in talk.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the man asked, his voice becoming a little more rough as he looked at the professor with half-closed eyes, trying to assess him.
" Don't worry , Logan , it was just a joke" Xavier said, Logan stood there arms cross and leaning against the wall. watching over the girls, eyes like a hawk.
Jacinta grinned, panting slightly as she began to stand a little straighter. Hayleigh looked at the girl, tall and sleek with her fitted suit gripping to her skin, accentuating each and every one of her stunning features - perhaps she was one of those people who had either been born beautiful, or like most of the X-Men, had enough free time on their hands to improve the cosmetic aspects of their lives, rather than trying to build the bridges into normality.
They'd just survived God-knows what kinds of different dangers, but for now everything seemed stable. Hayleigh took a moment to catch her breath before wondering if she should be asking the other girl her questions, completely astonished by her power. It wasn't like the other ones she had seen, seeing as it could be used as both an offence and a defence. The arms she used were invisible of course, but if something touched them, they would ripple and become a sort of glassy-red colour before disappearing once again. Now that, she had to admit, was cool. Standing up straight again, she took a deep breath and turned to the other girl. "Well, that was tough. I'm pretty surprised that the two of us even survived it to be brutally honest," she mumbled, trying to get to the point as soon as she could. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, looking around the danger room once more. "I bet it's fun though, having a power like that, right? Just imagine all of the things you could do with them. How did you even realise that you had the ability to bring something like that out of your body?" Of course she knew how she would most likely be greeted - most mutants hated talking about the ways in which they found out about themselves, seeing as it was usually during some kind of tragic event. Jacinta's expression however remained unchanged. The older girl simply turned and cocked her head to the side, folding her arms as she looked down at Hayleigh.
"You really wanna know?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. It was still confusing to Hayleigh why Jacinta never even bothered taking her gloves off, but she assumed it was just something that she'd done for her entire life - they weren't even part of her suit. The smaller girl nodded, almost reluctantly at first, before building up the confidence to add a small "yes" to the end of it. Walking over to the wall slowly, Jacinta slid down into a sitting position, her long legs outstretched before her as she motioned for Hayleigh to do the same beside her. "Well," she started off, taking her gloves off for the first time in perhaps years, revealing her scarlet hands that were covered in what seemed like blood. How it was even possible that she could bleed like that astounded Hayleigh; surely nothing could get through those tough leather gloves, right? "I don't get it..." she mumbled, wishing she could grasp a hold of what was going on in this situation. The brunette took a moment to breathe and think about what it was that was even happening: she and Jacinta were sat in the danger room, just talking. That in itself is special, but now that she could see that the older girl was covered in blood, it made the situation all the more terrifying. Didn't she need help? She kept her mouth shut, hoping that the girl would continue.
"Look closer," Jacinta told her, flashing her nails right in front of her face. Leaning in closer, the sixteen year old seemed to notice fresher blood underneath the girl's nails, and the drier patches covered the rest of her hand. So her nails were the source... was it some kind of disease? "I still don't understand..." she whispered, hoping that her curiosity wasn't going to annoy the other girl. Sometimes she felt like she was invading on people's privacy when she asked silly questions, but it was all for her own good so that she wouldn't disturb them again in the future. "You don't have to. It was a hard concept for me to grasp at first, but since the second time I hurt someone, I realised that those..." she nodded down to her bloody hands, "and my abilities... they're connected somehow. It's not just the blood though." She wiped a little bit of the fresh blood away from her nails, showing their natural colour before they faded into a sky blue colour. "It's like mood rings, and I've seemed to guess that light blue means there's an aura of calm - the blood, I can summon that when I want, but it hurts every time. Usually it only used to work if I was angry and in pain, but now I can control it as I please. The way I found out I had these was the worst night of my life, but then again, possibly the best. I killed my best friend by accident because she gave me this" Jacinta shifted her fringe to the other side of her face, showing the scar that ran down from her hairline to her jaw. Letting the fringe flop back down into its usual position, she replaced the gloves on her hands, smiling as she pulled them over her thumbs. "So, squirt, how'd you find out about yours?" she asked, her face brightening as her eyes sparkled - a sight that Hayleigh hadn't seen too often.
Hayleigh looked at the other girl with wide eyes, taking a step back from her. "No, I can't go back... I just can't. No..." she mumbled, looking around as if she wanted to escape the place. There was only one way out of there, and it was behind the tall blonde that stood in her way. Dammit. She sighed, realising that there was no way for her to get out of there without being caught by Jacinta. "I won't let you convince me otherwise either... I know what you're all like, you and your stupid mind tricks. I'm not going back to the state, and you are not going to make me, understand?" She began to realise how aggravated she was getting, and suddenly noticed Jace's expression change into something she had seen all too often - one of amusement and laughter. That's it, the girl was laughing at her for not wanting to go back. She was about to ask what her problem is, before reluctantly pulling herself that it was definitely not a good idea at best.
"You know, it would be so much easier for you if you just accepted other people's help," the eighteen-year-old muttered, turning away from Hayleigh. From the back, she still looked just as mesmerising with her wavy blonde locks flowing down to her waistline, and her suit still gripping to each and every distinct curve on her body. It was strange how everyone around the place seemed to look amazing in their suits, and weren't afraid to show everyone what it was like to be part of one of the best things that the world had ever seen. Perhaps this girl wasn't completely nasty after all. She ran to catch up with the older girl, making it out of the door to see that she was going straight ahead. "Jacinta, wait!" she called out desperately, hoping she would get another chance to make her choice. "I want you to help me." Her last sentence had been something of a lie, but more and more hope seemed to come to her as she contemplated it. That was what she needed after all - help.
Why on Earth should I help you now? I tried, but you just said you didn't need it. Bugger off," Jacinta replied, not even bothering to turn her head. She disappeared off down a hallway, and Hayleigh gave up, stopping in her tracks once again. That was it - there was no help from her at all, so who else would be willing to try and aid her in overcoming this. She knew that if they tried to solve her problems with her state that she'd probably just leave and go back to the danger room to take everything out on whatever was thrown at her, but that didn't mean they couldn't help her with the other things she was going through, right? Walking off in another direction, Hayleigh decided that she would go look for Xavier - he'd know what to do, right?
The corridors she walked through weren't the most interesting of all places, but at least she knew the vague direction in which she was heading. The professor's office was somewhere close by, and she was beginning to think that Jacinta had left her knowing that she would head off in this direction; it just seemed like something the girl would do. She grinned at the thought and carried on, knocking on the door as she came to it. Hayleigh waited a moment before hearing the voice in her head, telling her that she was free to come in. Perhaps Professor Charles Xavier's power wasn't that bad after all, at least she didn't have to stand outside the door for hours, just waiting until someone braver noticed her and allowed her to go inside. No matter how many things he'd done to her to get her here in this place, there was no way that Hayleigh could ever really hate Xavier that much. Opening the door, she took a look around the room and smiled - it was welcoming, to say the least, and no matter how uncomfortable she felt in the presence of her fellow mutants, Hayleigh couldn't help but feel welcome when the old man was around. He motioned to the chair in front of his desk for her to sit in, not saying anything to her either mentally or verbally. She obliged, sitting down on the comfortable leather that she had been forced into many a time. "So what is it that you came to see me about?" he finally asked her, his thinning lips moving for once, rather than using his telepathy. It was odd, but Hayleigh preferred it nonetheless.
"Err..." she mumbled, wondering how to start. Could she really trust this girl? Of course she could. If the others knew, then Jacinta could know - it was only fair, after all. "It was late one night, I was asleep. I can't even tell if it was real or dream, because it felt too much like both. There was fire all around me, and I could swear I was burning, even though there was no sign of it on my skin. I couldn't breathe, but there was cold sweat running down my face. It was the strangest thing that has ever happened to me." Hayleigh stopped suddenly, remembering that night suddenly as if it was yesterday. The way her sheets had been burned and there was ash all around her, it felt like a nightmare that had come to life.
After a few moments of silence, she finally answered his question. "I err, I don't know really. I just came to you to talk about a few things. Like the fact that I don't want to go back into the state in which I came from. I'm terrified of that place, you know what will happen if I go back, don't you? You can see it through my thoughts, and even perhaps your own, right?" It was a mouthful for her to get out, and she couldn't help but hope that he would see her side of things, and that he would be able to see how much it killed her emotionally to see what was going to happen if she did go back. The girl was beyond afraid, beyond terrified even perhaps. She looked at him, hoping that he wouldn't try to convince her to go back or anything else of the like, but instead he simply smiled at her and said "Right." It took a few seconds for her to register his words in her mind, but Hayleigh felt instantly better when it seemed like he understood what was going on. It was a comfortable feeling when he placed his fingers on her temples, as she just assumed that he was taking a moment to see what kinds of thoughts were going through her mind. Little did she know that he was trying to push away all of her fears of going back to the state. Slowly widening her eyes, she realised what he was doing. " No, stop ! " she said , pushing his hands away from her head, and shooting up from the chair heading for the door." HAyleigh, I was doing it to help you " Xavier stated as she froze in front of the door. " Why ? Why should you help me, I never helped you and I just want to never have been a mutant" She said in a sad tone, a tear fell down her face. The door perched opened, startling Haleigh causing her to jump. The door only revealed Logan, Logan simply rise his eyebrows.
He smirked and raised his hand, pointing back towards the door. "I could leave if you-""No," Xavier said quietly. "I think we're done here. Hayleigh does not want our help, and we cannot force it upon her. We all know what happens when we're forced to have things happen to us that we don't want now, don't we Logan?" The professor nodded to him once more. "So what is it that you wanted?" Logan placed her hand against the door frame, blocking Hayleigh's way." What is your problem?" Hayleigh murmured. "Shorty, think about this offer, Professor can help you." Logan professor's expression remained unchanged, and Logan shot him a glance as if to say 'well? do something?' He kept his hand firmly placed in front of Hayleigh on the door, moving his eyes back down towards her" I don't want to accept his help, i don't need this" Hayleigh said trying to pushed pass Logan.
But his hand remained in didn't budge, instead he just grinned down at her and motioned towards the professor.
"Then what do you need? Being alone isn't going to help you short-stuff, trust me on that one. You need us, even if you don't want to think that."
Hayleigh returned to the seat , she sat in before. Logan just remained a shadow behind her, she frowned. The professor leaned forwards, his hands in his lap with his fingers entwining one another.
"Are you ready then Hayleigh? I'm going to have to do this one way or another, so if you consent to this, at least it won't be as much of a struggle."Hayleigh glaze darted between Logan and the Professor, her eyes widened as she realised what was happening.
" Noooo, please dont do this, please " Hayleigh begged
"Dear girl, it won't hurt a bit. I promise you, just hold still and you won't even feel a thing. It's for your own good, I promise..." he whispered, leaning further over to her as he place a hand on her temple.
' Don't touch me, ' she yelled as she tried to stand up form her chair. He pulled his hands back down by his sides, hanging his head low. Little to his knowledge, Logan had walked up behind Hayleigh and was now wrapping his arms around her, pushing her back down into her seat.
" Calm down, kid, this is going to help you a lot." he said placing her down into the seat as she buckled and thrashed against him.
" No! Please i really dont want this" She shouted at Logan.
Before she could move again, the professor quickly placed his hands on her once again, counting on the fact that Logan would hold her down just long enough for him to finish with the task at hand - releasing the girl's fears of the grunted and screamed in pain, Flasing images of the past events. Her hair flashed golden rays across the room. The intenser the memory the more she screamed until The professor was done. He withdrawn his hands, a brief pause when he had to reorder his thoughts...