p class="MsoNormal"I open my eyes from the deep sleep that held me and feel a small stab of pain when I see that I am in my old room instead of the institute. I lie on my front, propping myself up on my elbows and rubbing my tired face. I stop abruptly when I notice the scorch marks on my headboard.
I reach out and stroke my fingers over the marks. emOh no/em. I wince at the memories of last night before taking a cautious glance to my right. Sure enough, John is asleep beside me.
emOh man, how could I be so stupid?/embr /
"Hey," I poke him awkwardly on the arm. His eyes flutter open, and he smiles when he sees / "Good morning."
He / "Last night was a mistake." I say bluntly. "You should go."br / "Oh." He looks slightly / "My mom will be home from her night shift in half an hour." I stand from the bed and slip on my clothes from the night / "Evelyn,"
He says my name / "Yeah?" I reply awkwardly, trying to ignore the / "Last night..." He pauses, watching me. br / "What about it?" I say / "Never mind." He / "Here." I throw his clothes in a big pile on top of the duvet that covers his body. "I'm going for a shower. By the time I get back, you won't be here, and I can work on convincing myself that last night never happened."br /
"emBut it did happen/em." His voice in my head stops me as I go to leave the / "I can't deal with this right now." I try to keep my tone strong. "Just go."br / I leave my room and head to the bathroom. I take a long shower, cleansing my body and mind of all memories of yesterday. I sigh heavily when I notice the collection of small burns on my left forearm and hand. emHow did that even get there?/em Of course, the burns don't hurt, but the fact they're there in the first place clearly indicates my contact with John. Only a pyrokinetic could do that, any other fire could not mark my skin that / "emGoodbye, Evelyn/em."
John's stern voice fills my / "emArdor/em."
I / "emWhatever/em." I hear the front door slam downstairs as I step out of the shower.
Nothing happened. I tell myself. br / I quickly dress again,
wearing the same jeans as yesterday. I slip my hand into the pocket and feel the rough texture of paper. I pull out the newspaper clipping with the photo of Scott on it. Tears brim my eyes. emI'm crazy./embr / I was so stupid to let him go so easily. I wish I could just take it all back. I love him so much, and he doesn't even know. He doesn't realize that everything about him is heaven to me. I didn't tell him enough how much he meant to me. I can't let him go this easily, emcan I?/em He gave me everything I ever wanted. There is no way I could ever find another guy anywhere near as perfect as him. br / "Evelyn,
honey?" My mother's voice sings from downstairs. "You up yet? I need to talk to you."br / "Yeah?" I call, leaving the bathroom and hurrying downstairs. "What's up?"br / "Yesterday." She says simply. "Was that emthe/em John?"br / "Yeah.
That's him." I take a deep breath to suppress my / "Evi, Scott and the other students at the institute seemed so nice. John and that girl you brought him here with... I don't trust them." She / "I know." I reply / "I don't want to tell you who to hang out with, but I'm just letting you know how I feel." She / "I know." I repeat. "Thank you,
mom."br / "Hey, you okay? You look a bit down."
She strokes my fringe from my face / "I love you, mom." I hug her tightly, holding back the /
"What's all this about?" She hugs me back, resting her head atop my own. I shake my head against her shoulder, too weak to say any words. "Evelyn."br / "Yeah?" I take a deep breath as I pull back from / "You're stronger than you think. You can get through this. You can get through anything." She whispers. "Go out there and show them how strong you are, honey."br / "You're crazy,
mom." I smirk through the now-flowing / "But you still love me." She / "Of course."
I smile. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"br / "Yeah." She / I practically sprint upstairs into my room. I have an hour before I have to meet my new team. I shove my uniform and an excessive amount of makeup into a sports bag and leave the room, shutting the door behind me. I am thankful my mom never enters my room without my permission. If she did today, not only would she find a photograph that proved my connection to the X-Men, but she'd see a rather excessive amount of incriminating scorch marks on my bed. br / I exit the house quickly, storming down the small street. I soon reach the edge of town, and set off down the street to find somewhere to make myself look like Ardor; the brave, strong mutant, and not Evelyn; the pathetic, weak little / I stop when I walk past the newspaper stall that stands proudly on the side of the street. I look down at one of the stacks of papers, the headline catching my eye.
"strongemAN X-MAN DOWN?/em/strong".
emJeez, I've only been gone two days!br /
/em"Unbelievable." I /
/em"Isn't it just?" A man beside me speaks up.
"They say the others are refusing to comment on what happened to her."embr / /em"In my opinion,"
Another one starts. "They're better off without her."embr / /emI pout and roll my /
/em"I agree." The first man replies. "Didn't she create all the problems in the first place?"embr / /em"Yes, she-"embr /
/em"Her name is Ardor." I cut in, placing the paper back on the pile and igniting it, causing all of the newspapers to burn up in seconds. I hear the gasps behind me as I walk / /em"Yeah, police?" A guy says, obviously having just called 911. "You're not gunna believe what just happened here!"/p
I reach out and stroke my fingers over the marks. emOh no/em. I wince at the memories of last night before taking a cautious glance to my right. Sure enough, John is asleep beside me.
emOh man, how could I be so stupid?/embr /
"Hey," I poke him awkwardly on the arm. His eyes flutter open, and he smiles when he sees / "Good morning."
He / "Last night was a mistake." I say bluntly. "You should go."br / "Oh." He looks slightly / "My mom will be home from her night shift in half an hour." I stand from the bed and slip on my clothes from the night / "Evelyn,"
He says my name / "Yeah?" I reply awkwardly, trying to ignore the / "Last night..." He pauses, watching me. br / "What about it?" I say / "Never mind." He / "Here." I throw his clothes in a big pile on top of the duvet that covers his body. "I'm going for a shower. By the time I get back, you won't be here, and I can work on convincing myself that last night never happened."br /
"emBut it did happen/em." His voice in my head stops me as I go to leave the / "I can't deal with this right now." I try to keep my tone strong. "Just go."br / I leave my room and head to the bathroom. I take a long shower, cleansing my body and mind of all memories of yesterday. I sigh heavily when I notice the collection of small burns on my left forearm and hand. emHow did that even get there?/em Of course, the burns don't hurt, but the fact they're there in the first place clearly indicates my contact with John. Only a pyrokinetic could do that, any other fire could not mark my skin that / "emGoodbye, Evelyn/em."
John's stern voice fills my / "emArdor/em."
I / "emWhatever/em." I hear the front door slam downstairs as I step out of the shower.
Nothing happened. I tell myself. br / I quickly dress again,
wearing the same jeans as yesterday. I slip my hand into the pocket and feel the rough texture of paper. I pull out the newspaper clipping with the photo of Scott on it. Tears brim my eyes. emI'm crazy./embr / I was so stupid to let him go so easily. I wish I could just take it all back. I love him so much, and he doesn't even know. He doesn't realize that everything about him is heaven to me. I didn't tell him enough how much he meant to me. I can't let him go this easily, emcan I?/em He gave me everything I ever wanted. There is no way I could ever find another guy anywhere near as perfect as him. br / "Evelyn,
honey?" My mother's voice sings from downstairs. "You up yet? I need to talk to you."br / "Yeah?" I call, leaving the bathroom and hurrying downstairs. "What's up?"br / "Yesterday." She says simply. "Was that emthe/em John?"br / "Yeah.
That's him." I take a deep breath to suppress my / "Evi, Scott and the other students at the institute seemed so nice. John and that girl you brought him here with... I don't trust them." She / "I know." I reply / "I don't want to tell you who to hang out with, but I'm just letting you know how I feel." She / "I know." I repeat. "Thank you,
mom."br / "Hey, you okay? You look a bit down."
She strokes my fringe from my face / "I love you, mom." I hug her tightly, holding back the /
"What's all this about?" She hugs me back, resting her head atop my own. I shake my head against her shoulder, too weak to say any words. "Evelyn."br / "Yeah?" I take a deep breath as I pull back from / "You're stronger than you think. You can get through this. You can get through anything." She whispers. "Go out there and show them how strong you are, honey."br / "You're crazy,
mom." I smirk through the now-flowing / "But you still love me." She / "Of course."
I smile. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"br / "Yeah." She / I practically sprint upstairs into my room. I have an hour before I have to meet my new team. I shove my uniform and an excessive amount of makeup into a sports bag and leave the room, shutting the door behind me. I am thankful my mom never enters my room without my permission. If she did today, not only would she find a photograph that proved my connection to the X-Men, but she'd see a rather excessive amount of incriminating scorch marks on my bed. br / I exit the house quickly, storming down the small street. I soon reach the edge of town, and set off down the street to find somewhere to make myself look like Ardor; the brave, strong mutant, and not Evelyn; the pathetic, weak little / I stop when I walk past the newspaper stall that stands proudly on the side of the street. I look down at one of the stacks of papers, the headline catching my eye.
"strongemAN X-MAN DOWN?/em/strong".
emJeez, I've only been gone two days!br /
/em"Unbelievable." I /
/em"Isn't it just?" A man beside me speaks up.
"They say the others are refusing to comment on what happened to her."embr / /em"In my opinion,"
Another one starts. "They're better off without her."embr / /emI pout and roll my /
/em"I agree." The first man replies. "Didn't she create all the problems in the first place?"embr / /em"Yes, she-"embr /
/em"Her name is Ardor." I cut in, placing the paper back on the pile and igniting it, causing all of the newspapers to burn up in seconds. I hear the gasps behind me as I walk / /em"Yeah, police?" A guy says, obviously having just called 911. "You're not gunna believe what just happened here!"/p