And I'm back! Sorry for the pause but I've been ill the past week, tonsillitis is a bitch...
Anyway, as I've been ill Ive had a lot of time doing nothing. I watched x men first class and x men origins: wolverine (I enjoyed first class more, mainly because of James mcavoy and Michael fassbender, but i thought all the characters were awesome as well) but I have to say that I thought origins wasn't as bad as people say, okay it wasn't the best and the time line is fucked up but it introduced a lot of cool characters like sabre tooth, deadpool, gambit and not to mention wolverine and how he forgets everything. I'm gonna stop arguing now before someone kills me (Pointing at dad).
Tiger mutant ~ you rock! Seriously, I was smiling at your review for ages (hopefully not creepy.) hope you enjoy this but I'll likely go back at change some of it when my brain actually works properly.
thanks to tiger mutant and Louise3827 for following the story, it means so much!
disclaimer: I only own OCs.
with that done, on with the chapter...
I'm a nightmare, a disaster,
That's what they always said,
I'm a lost cause, not a hero,
But I'll make it on my own,
I've got to prove them wrong,
They'll never bring us down,
Simple Plan ~ Me Against The World
"Just stay close to me Isaac." I said, gripping my little brother's hand tightly as we entered the freezing lake. The early morning day sent a dazzling spray on the water, the ripples looking like golden bars. The surrounding woodland area held a mixture of different colours as flowers began to literally spring into life. Bluebells covered most of the forest floor, lush grass underrated as it still gave a vibrant shape to the landscape.
I loved the scene, one of many reasons why I preferred the rural towns rather than urban cities, finding it much more peaceful. The pathway that lead to the lake was a plain dirt track, only Isaac's and my footprints sketched into the dirt as nobody else liked to witness the woodland change all year round, for us it was a chance to escape home and remember how life used to be without technology, just the basic human instincts.
"I don't want to do it Sammy, I'm too scared." Isaac moaned at me, making every step we took slower. I simply nudged him forward, persistent that his phobia would cured.
Isaac hated water, a phobia that had formed since Mom accidentally let go of him in the bath when he was a baby, he still had nightmares about it, the vivid memory something that made me believe he was an alien (It seemed childish imagination was something we shared, like two peas in a pod).
"If we can cure your fear, then Mom won't have to worry about getting scratch marks whenever she puts you in the bath." I said in a fluster as the long walk towards the lake took a good hour of constant walking.
"You don't want to smell horrible for the rest of your life, do you?" I pressured, not in a cruel way, I wanted the best for him, and if he wasn't careful the bullying would start soon if he didn't have an average number of baths.
He became quiet as we crept closer to the water, the ice cold liquid sinking into our winter boots. Considering it was spring, winter hadn't totally passed as Isaac and I were suited up in at least four layers of sweltering clothing. Gloves covered our juvenile hands, these layers making it difficult to plough through the water.
We went slowly, one step at a time as Isaac set the pace. Because they was four years between us (Isaac being six and me being ten) I always needed up having to be the adult, especially when it came down to babysitting him. I pushed the childish jealously out of my head, focused on getting Isaac further into the lake.
Gradually it got higher, Isaac breathing heavily as we etched closer to the deeper depths of the lake. His sandy hair much like Mom's, though, to be honest I wouldn't know if we resembled dad at all, not remembering him all that much. It pained to lie to him about dad, but I couldn't do much else, never wanting him to know the truth like I did, wanting to keep him innocent for as long as possible.
"Sammy I can't do it!" He screeched as the lake water rose to his elbows, the water slightly lower for me. He panicked, arms in a frenzy to grab hold of something, this something being my neck. He hooked his arms around the flesh, almost choking me as I tried to pull him free.
"Isaac calm down, you're gonna drown both of us!" I yelled, my footing suddenly slipping off the solid floor of the lake. My whole body was pushed under as Isaac tried to scramble on top of me, staying out the reach of the murky depths. Unfortunately, the water filled my lungs as I didn't have chance to close my mouth, all the chemicals that were unnamed spilling into my system.
In frantic strength, I pushed my head above the water, Isaac still hanging off my neck. The lake water sloshed into my eyes as I managed to stay a float, searching for land as my vision blurred from the water.
"Isaac! I can't...see...stop...panicking!" I ordered, fearful that we might drown and it would be my fault. But he never stopped, his own phobia making him deaf to my words, water still spilling into my mouth.
Again I was pushed under, heartbeat thumping in my chest and in my eardrums as the strength left me, unable to fight against Isaac's outburst as we sank further under the water...the murky blue being the unmarked grave for both of us...
"I believe that is enough Miss King." Professor X's calming voice spoke, me opening my eyes as his telepathic reading stopped. I felt like a mental patient visiting a shrink; lying down on a long chair as Professor X sat in his wheelchair beside me. However, unlike other shrinks, he didn't have to ask me what was wrong, he just had to read my mind.
"It's all my fault..." I murmured quietly, the nightmares being exactly what Professor X had just witnessed.
He stared at me, empathy sketched over his face as he saw the young (broken) mutant in front of him. He knew there was a story to her the moment he had seen her when using Cerebro, seeing this lonely girl in a foster home in Illinois.
"What's past is past. I am telling you as your mentor and fellow mutant, what happened was out of your control, it was in no way your fault." He spoke forcefully, though the empathy dripped of his words. I nodded my head faintly, knowing I couldn't lie to him.
"Did the accident take place before your mutation?" He asked sensitively, never taking his eyes off mine as I twisted my body into a sitting position.
"If I had just found out earlier, maybe, I could have done something to save him." I sighed, practically despising myself for not discovering my ability sooner. I had found out a month afterwards, flooding the bathroom due to a panic attack.
But Professor X was right, I couldn't have done anything, if I had then I wouldn't be alive to hate myself for not doing anything. That day could have had multiple outcomes, but I would likely have still ended up in care in every one. Mom couldn't handle both of us, what with the rent and trying to work to get money for food; she would have chosen Isaac over me. As far as I knew, he had been normal...perfect even. Never got into trouble, always did well at school, no mutation that made him a freak.
"Events happen for a reason, even tragedies, and here we can help you to understand why it happened. Until then, I suggest go to your lessons to keep yourself busy, and get some rest whenever you can." He suggested with a comforting smile, I tightly smiled back, standing up gently as I began to leave his office.
"Thank you Professor, for finding me." I was truly grateful, the school more like a family than the foster home. He used his wheelchair to turn around and face me, my hand grappling the door handle.
"My pleasure Miss King, you're a model student for the younger years, and I'm sure you have a bright future ahead of you." He answered, me blushing red in embarrassment. I nodded my head in thanks before slipping out the door.
Luckily there was at least an hour before lessons began, giving me enough time to check Johanna wasn't too hung over. She had passed out on her bed, a metal cooking bowl on the floor after she threw up for the sixth time. Even as I stewed on my anger, I made sure she didn't choke on her own vomit, as forgiveness merely crossed my mind. I couldn't exactly blame her, the alcohol was the actual culprit but it didn't change the fact that she used my brother's death against me.
It didn't take long before I got to our dorm, pushing it open and shutting it quietly. Instantly I tiptoed over to Johanna's door and found she wasn't there. Confusion entered my mind until I heard barfing from the bathroom. As predicted, Johanna's face was stuffed in the toilet with her hair in a massive clump. The sight was quite amusing, but I forced myself to keep a straight face as I knocked on the ajar door. She moaned, obviously a headache was bashing against her forehead.
Gingerly she took her head out of the toilet, makeup a complete mess as bags hung darkly under her eyes. Vomit dripped from her bottom lip, me never seeing Johanna in such a terrible state.
"Could you knock a little quieter?" She mumbled, eyes barely staying open. I sighed, walking over and kneeling next to her.
"Do you remember anything?" I inquired, though my suspicions were that she couldn't. Without hesitation she shook her head slowly, rapidly putting it back into the toilet as she vomited again. I gently pulled her black hair out of the way, knowing it was best that she didn't remember, it being our secret that could be forgotten.
"I'll tell our teachers that you're ill, just sleep it off." I ordered, quickly going to pack my bag before my stomach flipped again. Johanna didn't reply, likely because she couldn't.
As my usual routine of packing my bag before actually having a shower or anything, meant I had a little under an hour to do what I wanted. The session with Professor X did indeed help clear my mind for a while, knowing I had someone to talk to if the nightmares became too bad. In truth they were becoming more frequent, being every night so that I had little sleep, making it harder to concentrate in lessons.
"Wonder if Mom's still living there." I pondered, the thought surprising me has I had managed to block her out of my head since I was put into care. She couldn't cope after Isaac's death, like me, she just stopped believing life was worth living.
She never bothered to visit me, so I concluded that I would just forget her, forget that family ever existed but it was hard as you can't truly disown your family. I wouldn't be here without them, same with Dad, I couldn't cut him out of my life because of what he did.
I zipped the bag up, and decided to head for the indoor pool. It didn't take much effort to find my swimsuit, it usually hung up on my bedroom door because I used it so much. As predicted it was there, and I stuffed it into a carrier bag.
"I'll be back later for my bag!" I called to Johanna from the front door, and in return I heard a pained groan. I decided not to annoy her further, sprinting down the corridors towards the swimming pool.
Sat at the bottom of the pool, cross-legged, I closed my eyes and let the water smother me. My arms lifted on their own accord, guided by the water as I felt weightless. I would have to go up for air soon, being under for about ten minutes. I couldn't stay under for too long if I was stressed or thinking about certain stuff, mainly stuff that made me stressed.
"Shit!" The bad language was muffled by the water clogged in my ears, the voice nearly making me jump out of my skin. Turning my head, I watched as a familiar lighter tumbled to the pool's mosaic floor, the clang never heard.
Pushing my body to move, I swam over to the lighter, quickly grabbing it as I heaved towards to surface. Breaking through the barrier between air and water, I was met with the sight of John gawping at me with a mixture of awe and embarrassment.
He wore a plain grey t-shirt and blue jeans. Clearly he had only just woken up as his hair stuck up at all ends, not the usual combed back look. I held the lighter above the water, the relief on his face almost made me giggle as he cared so much about it, still, as he can manipulate fire it's no surprise his zippo is important to him.
"Believe you dropped this." I said sarcastically, gripping the ledge of the pool as I held my arm higher for him to take the lighter. After some thought, he knelt down and grabbed it, proceeding to sit down with his knees up.
We watched as water poured out of it as he turned it upside down, and I could see he was practically begging for it to still work. I had no words of wisdom, never even owning a lighter let alone knowing how to fix one.
"It should dry out in a couple of days, that's if the water hasn't mixed with the fuel, fuck." He cursed, talking more to himself than me. I rolled my eyes, expecting no less from a guy like him, swearing whenever anything goes wrong.
He put the lighter in his jeans pocket, awkwardness in the air as I had caught him spying on me (part of his own undoing). To tell the truth it was unnerving knowing he had been watching me, but that could be due to last night and the monster Fredric. I physically shuddered at the memory, the water surrounding me rippling with the sudden movement.
"Thanks, for saving me last night. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't turned up." I thanked to break the ice, questions popping into my head: why had he been at the bar? Why did he follow Fredric in the first place? Why did he tell me his name? There were too many and they had sprung up all at once.
John simply shrugged his shoulders as of it were nothing, making the point to not look me directly in the eye, staring at his knees or at the still water.
"I know what that asshole is like, so I knew what his motives were, and didn't want him getting the satisfaction of scaring you." He explained, though I could tell it was only partially true, but I didn't press on it.
"Thanks anyway, though, why are you here?" It was a pretty forward question, and again I could see he didn't want to play twenty questions with me in a swimming pool by his feet.
"You were in a state last night, so I just wanted to check you were okay, and all it earned me was a water logged lighter." He grumbled, all the heroic stuff just a ruse probably, maybe he wanted to show off his abilities rather than actually help me.
He dragged one of his hands through his messy hair, yawning loudly as he did so, probably never being up so early in his life. Seeing as I grew up in the country, I'm used to being an early bird, having to do all the chores before breakfast.
"No need to ask what you can do then." He mumbled after his yawn, motioning a waving hand to the water. He took my silence as a chance to rub his eyes, a mischievous idea popping into my head.
He yelped as he was sprayed with freezing water, falling backwards as I smiled at his surprise. I don't why I did it, I guess it was the timing of it that made me think it had to be done. John looked wide awake now, so technically I had done him a favour.
"What was that for?" He exclaimed, wiping away the water with his hands. I shrugged my shoulders, beginning to feel warmer as the morning drew sunnier.
"For nearly breaking my neck when you tripped me up yesterday." I countered straight away, knowing payback was a bitch.
John opened his mouth to say something, then found he couldn't reply as he knew I was right. He hadn't met anyone like me, no-one could actually tolerate his quick tongue for more than a couple of hours, and he hadn't made the best first impression either.
He had heard someone talk about this bar where all the older kids went, and quickly decided to see if it was worth his time as he had nothing better to do. But of course the pervert Freddie had to be an asshole and harass the girls.
Honestly he wouldn't have gave a damn if it was anyone else, but he found that he couldn't have live with himself knowing he had let her suffer. Trouble was, Freddie was bound to find her again as he went to Xavier's school too, and he couldn't guarantee he would back off forever.
"I'll give you that one for free, seeing as I deserved it. Neat trick by the way." He added, water dripping off his hair and onto the floor. I let him off, not actually caring about the whole tripping me up thing, just wanting to make it clear that he couldn't be a jerk around me and get away with it.
"It'd be a lot cooler if I could magic water out of thin air, but, I can only manipulate water if its already there." I explained, though John seemed to empathise in his own special way.
"Same with me, I can only control a flame that already exists, which is why I always have a lighter on me." He replied with actual enthusiasm at discussing his abilities. It seemed the awkwardness had gone, which surprised me, seeing as I'd only talked to him yesterday and with my paranoia it made it difficult to open up to people.
"That's at least one thing we have in common, though people do say opposites attract." I mumbled, silently regretting that I had added the last bit. John raised an eyebrow playfully, to which I countered with an eye roll.
"So you find me attractive then?" He inquired, purposefully making me feel uncomfortable.
"Shut up, unless you want a bucketful of water next time." I threatened, and his eyebrow dropped back to normal, though he still had that playful gleam in his eyes.
"You said it not me, and I don't believe in all that opposites attract crap, its a hoax." He argued as to change the subject, slightly annoyed by my threat.
That was another thing I had to agree with, all the finding your soulmate stuff was a fairy tale thought up to make the world seem magical when in reality it's luck that keeps the Earth spinning. I didn't admit our common agreement though, not wanting another eyebrow raise from John.
"I need to get ready before lessons start, I'll see you around probably." Luckily John took the hint and stood up, giving me space to jump out of the pool without stray water splashing onto him. He didn't move from his spot in front of me like I expected him to, I assumed he was going to walk away without saying anything. But no, John stood still as we tried to avoid eye contact.
Why does this seem so cliche?
I moaned like a teenager, the awkward feeling engulfing us again.
"We've got combat for first lesson, you know who the teacher is right?" John asked with an obvious fear. The truth was I did know, and the guy scared the hell out of me. I nodded my head with grimace, John sharing this as he tried not to look down, even mutants could be hormonal perverts.
I guess I never knew he was in my class, maybe it was about time I started to pay more attention to the people around me, after all, we could be fighting together like the X-men.
"I'll see you then, I hope nobody pisses him off, really don't want to run twenty laps around the school." I sighed, remembering the last time someone annoyed he who must not be named unless you want your ass kicked, thinking about it, it could have been John...
"See ya, and if my zippo is broken, you're paying for a new one." Before I could even object, John had already sprinted down the corridor and out of sight. I exasperated, after all he was the one that had dropped it.
I'll argue with him later...
I sighed as I headed towards the showers for a quick wash down. Though it was pointless as combat would make us all sweat, The Wolverine really fitting to his name, never giving any of us a break.
Why did he have to add that last bit? Of all the things he could've said, he had to be a jerk.
John resulted to kicking a trash can in anger, these sudden explosions of anger something he couldn't control. That was a reason of many as to why his parents had abandoned him, not just his mutation, but the anger issues that honestly were because of them in the first place.
He tried to divulge his brain away from them, not giving them the time of day, unlike this new girl Sam. He hadn't planned on spying on her, it was just a coincidence that she would have walked past his dorm when Bobby had pissed him off with his snoring.
Bobby, his roommate, he swore could wake the whole school if the walls weren't soundproof, actually, he didn't even know if they were soundproof. Course he could complain about his loudness to himself, it wouldn't change anything, and if he did say anything he would loose the only friend he had. Bobby had only been at the school for a couple of weeks and already he was making quite an impression, being the iceman and all.
John picked his pace up a little after hearing an angered grunt from the nearby rooms, his outburst causing a loud hindrance to some students. He wasn't scared of them, no way, he just didn't want to pick a fight in the early morning, especially as it could be Piotr's room, and the big guy wasn't nicknamed Colossus for nothing.
As John got closer to his dorm, he pondered how recent events had gone, and how he ended up knowing the new girl was a water manipulator and he had a fucked up lighter. He should've guessed at the bar, witnessing her tap attack on Freddie, though originally he had thought it was metal or something.
The way she just sat under the water for so long, reminded him of those old myths about sirens, how they lured men with their beautiful songs and dragged them under the water to drown.
Since when do I pay attention in history?
He questioned his own in take of the lessons, barely scraping through any tests as he thought they were a waste of time. No college or university would accept him, not after he would burn part of it, or they found out about his mutation in another way.
Normal schools didn't like their students being abnormal, which was why Xavier's institute was so important, because it was a place where mutants wouldn't be judged. However, he struggled to keep out of trouble for more than a couple of days, and he couldn't really fit in with people anyway. Only Bobby could tolerate him, and somehow Sam did as well, though he would ruin it like he would ruin his and Bobby's friendship.
He was a troublemaker that destroyed anything he touched, that was the painful truth that had been carved into his head by his parents.
"Fuck this, if I ruin it I ruin it, might as well take the chance and actually try to have some friends." He told himself as he entered his dorm, concluding that he would talk to Sam some more, find out what else they shared in common. Maybe not in lessons as he was usually late, but the canteen was always a good place where people could talk.
"John, what are you doing up so early?" Bobby looked worse than John did, his blonde hair a complete mess with bags under his eyes. John closed the door and faked a long yawn.
"Thought I heard someone knocking on the door, no-one was there, must be some pranksters." He mumbled, Bobby falling for his lie. He nodded his head before heading back into his room, leaving John with absolutely nothing to do.
In an old habit, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and felt a hand snake around a metal object. He pulled the damp lighter out, staring at it with a sigh.
"At least it gives me something to do." He grumbled, sitting down on the couch as he tinkered with the lighter mechanics. This would take a long time.
That's all for now, I'll write some more when I'm feeling a bit better. Until then, please review, really helps morale and everything...
~gothgirlstrikesagain