xXx
I left the Professor's office and stood outside the thick wooden doors, not sure where to go from there. I guessed that I could re-enter the room and ask Professor Xavier to contact Beast and Lana to resume the tour, but I honestly didn't feel like being around people at the moment. I had too much on my mind at the moment (I mean, I'm some kind of prophecy child that can bring peace or destruction? PRESSURE MUCH?), which made me lousy company. Lana was having fun with this 'finding her place' kick she's on, and I'd just bring her down.
So I started walking.
It's weird, how when you start walking, you get places. Like outside. It was beautiful out. Not as chilly as home, or at least, where home is supposed to be. It was so sunny that I had to squint, but it wasn't hot because there was a slight wind. I found myself by a large pond. It was relatively deep, with cattails breaking its smooth surface. It was wide enough around that it was possible for them to build a small man made island in the middle with a white gazebo standing on it. There was a pretty bridge that connected the island to the rest of the grounds.
I thought it looked like a good place to be alone until I heard the sounds of people shouting and laughing behind me. I turned to see a small group of teenagers my age playing with a Border Collie. One of the teenagers was ginger Mr. Fantastic. I smiled a little when the youngest in the group, a girl who could have been thirteen or fourteen, laughed cheerfully as she threw a Frisbee once more for the dog to chase after.
I stopped smiling when I realized that the Frisbee was coming straight for me. I prepared myself to catch the Frisbee, but not the eighty pound dog that was running after it.
"Oh dear." That's all I could say or do as the dog slammed into me while attempting to catch the disk. It knocked the wind out of me as we crashed to the ground. I heard a collective gasp and some laughter from the group, but all I could see was the long black and white face of the dog.
A dog with sparkling green eyes…
Those strange eyes widened, almost looking embarrassed. Then there was this shift and the next thing I knew, there was a naked boy on top of me. A very naked boy. Oh my lord, was this boy naked. Me being a virgin that had never made it past first base, this was kind of a big deal to me.
"I am so sorry! Are you okay?" The boy asked, not seeming to realize that he was still on top of me. And naked.
"Uh…" Was all I could say, trying to avoid looking at, um, him.
"Dude, pants." Ginger Mr. Fantastic suggested, pulling a pair of jogging pants out of his book bag and tossing them to the boy. "Try 'em sometime?"
Mr. Nude looked down, came to the realization that he was clothingly challenged, and quickly donned his pants. Instead of avoiding my gaze (like I was trying to avoid his), he kept staring at me. Like I was the nudist in this situation!
A girl with lots of scars on her fingers forced a laugh and pulled the boy away from me. "Eric, stop staring at her like she's a piece of meat."
"I'm, I'm not-its just…" The boy pulled away from the girl to step closer to me. "Leah? Leah Logan!"
"Um, yes? How did you…Eric?" I finally looked at the boy. Really looked at him. He was about 6'3, built like an athlete, with pale skin. He had jet black, thick hair. But it was his eyes that told me who this teenager was.
He was Eric Craig, my childhood neighbor and best friend.
Eric laughed and wrapped his arms around me and spun me around.
"Oh my God, as if!" I exclaimed when he finally put me down. "I-I can't believe this! How are you? When did you grow so tall!"
"When did you start wearing girls' clothing?" Eric teased, smiling at me. "Do you at least still call people 'bub?'"
"Bub" Ginger repeated, with a raised eyebrow.
His comment brought us back, reminding Eric and I that we weren't alone.
"Yeah, like her dad. Leah was a mini version of him." Eric grinned.
"Bub' as in, Wolverine?" The girl that pulled Eric away before stepped up again. "Wolverine has a kid? Since when?"
"Yeah, and its about time you came to the mansion." Eric said to me.
A guy that resembled a rhino scratched his head. "You wanna explain this to the rest of us, Fang?"
"Fang?" I questioned.
"Yeah, its my codename." Eric answered before answering the other guy's question. "Leah and I were neighbors and best friends back in BC, before I got my mutant powers and the X-men brought me here."
"And she's Wolverine's daughter?" Scar girl asked. Sparks danced around her hands. "Is she like Daken? Eighty years old and psychotic?"
Everyone went quiet at that.
"Wait who's-" I started to ask, but a bell rang.
"Lunch! Let's go!" Eric said quickly. He put an arm around my shoulder and led me towards the school. "So Leah, you finally joined us as mutants? Are your parents here too?"
I shook my head, "No, its, um, kind of a long story."
Eric smiled at me, making my insides quiver. "I guess that means we have to hang out until that long story is done then."