Hey, I'm super excited to present to you, Chapter Two! Enjoy!
Laurien didn't go to the hospital, as she likely should have done in her condition, and she could practically hear the spirit of her mother chastising her as she quickly made her way back to her apartment and slammed the door shut behind her, double-checking that the padlock was secure. She had long since started hyperventilating on her way to the apartment building, her breaths coming in short desperate gasps of air as she struggled to find a hold on something to keep her from falling over. It was difficult to think straight, her mind flinging thoughts and questions around at such a pace that she eventually fell to her knees and threw up into the porcelain toilet in the bathroom of her small apartment.
After she was done heaving up her guts until her breakfast of an apple made its unwelcome reappearance, Laurien slid down the wall to the floor of the bathroom. She tossed her broken sunglasses to the side and gingerly laid herself down to let her cheek rest against the cool tile. The cold surface was oddly comforting on her skin and her breathing soon slowed down considerably. She raised her fingers to the back of her head and found that her head was still refusing to stop bleeding, but against her better judgment, she chose to ignore it. As long as it she didn't get blood on the wallpaper, everything was fine.
She was feeling significantly better since being sick in the toilet, and she had begun to calm down enough to sort out what had happened. After running the scenario through her mind a few times, the only thing that she could be quite sure of was the fact that she was angry with the two mysterious men. Upon further thought, that might not have been right, as she suddenly realized that she didn't quite know what she felt about them, but anger was as close to a definitive emotion as she could get.
In short, Laurien was angry with the two men for invading her mind and her closely guarded secrets that were hers by right to keep hidden. She didn't know how that mind rubbish went, as she made a habit of ignoring the news when they began discussing rumors of Soviet mind control, but she sure as hell knew that the man had also witnessed what she'd seen in her head. In the end, Laurien found she was mostly mad at herself for being such a fool. A fool in what way, she wasn't quite sure, but over the years she never seemed to need a reason for being displeased with herself.
Honestly, all she wanted to do was fall asleep and forget about the men. The whole ordeal was rapidly descending into the area of being surreal. Still, upon reflection, they hadn't looked especially menacing, though the man in the leather jacket had looked fairly close to the description, but of course one couldn't just go on looks alone. The most handsome and charming looking man in world could still be a rampaging murderous psychopath if he wanted to.
Laurien was soon hopelessly lost in thought about the pair, as was per usual considering she tended to overthink in every sense and definition of the word. Another one of her charming traits, she thought bitterly to herself, though she returned to the matter at hand.
The shorter one did admittedly have a pleasant air about him. His light blue eyes sparkled with intelligence and energy, but looked too old in contrast to the rest of his youthful face. She distantly remembered her Oma telling her stories as a small child in Alkmaar, tales of old souls and how one of them had attached itself to Laurien. The thought had terrified her at the time; she'd envisioned a fire breathing demon creature digging its claws into her back and tearing into her soft flesh as her imagination ran away with itself. Her Oma had chuckled at her shocked little face and gently explained that it was only a figure of speech. Laurien had never quite fully understood until she had looked into the man's eyes and suddenly discerned her meaning.
The taller man on the other hand, gave the profound impression that he had been carrying something colossally heavy on his mind for quite a long time, longer than anyone should for that matter. She assumed it had something to do with the glint of retribution that was ever so present in his steely blue eyes, and the intensity made her feel uneasy.
It made Laurien wonder of what had given him this effect, but she quickly desisted, for she shouldn't fret over speculated troubles when she would hopefully never see him or his companion ever again. But then the question suddenly arose, was that really what she hoped for? Truly? They had intrigued her attention immeasurably, confused and even angered her. It had been years since she'd been in known proximity to another individual such as herself, if that was who they were. It could be purely educational to seek out this enigmatic pair, she thought, feigning lightness in her mental voice, as if she were unconsciously trying to convince herself to pursue the task. And more importantly, she reasoned, she could get some answers to the questions that she had been pondering upon for years.
Little did she know that an hour had passed without her noticing with her lying on the floor, contemplating the pros and cons of the hypothetical endeavor. Her eyelids had begun to grow heavier with each passing moment and she could feel herself drifting into a dreamless sleep, when there was a sudden knock on the door. Startled, Laurien's leg jerked in surprise and ended up connecting with the bathtub with an echoing thud.
Wincing in pain and mentally cursing whoever was behind the door, she turned her head against the tile and groaned. It must be that swine, Jack, from downstairs, coming to bother her again. With the way she was feeling at that moment, she had a right mind to punch him right in the mouth. She'd done it once before for his previous appalling misconduct, she could easily do it again. Laurien lifted herself an inch off the floor, only to find that she couldn't move beyond that height. With her stiff and bruised muscles unable to get her up from her awkward position, Laurien finally yelled at the door.
"Go away!"
To her surprise, there was no response.
"Jack, if that's you, you'd better-"
"It's not Jack, Laurel."
She breathed out a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice, it was only Oliver. Oliver was Jack's flat mate, who was superiorly mannered and exceptionally civil when it came to comparing him with the swine. In regards to the name he knew her by, it was a haphazard split second answer she came up with when he asked her name on the first day they'd met, and due to her embarrassment, she hadn't mustered up the courage to correct him.
"Oh, um, Oliver, this might not be the best time." Laurien managed with her face to the ground, wincing as her voice cracked. "Shit." She swore quietly to herself in Dutch. Now he was surely going to want to come in, the annoyingly caring soul he is.
"Laurel, are you all right? Your voice sounds very echoed."
Laurien sighed inwardly. This was not the time for a little chat, and the poor man, bless him, could never take a hint. If he came in, he would see her on the ground and call for help, and honestly, that was the last thing she wanted right now. She quickly scanned her mind for a way to get rid of him, finding a mental roadblock at every turn and then–
"Oliver, I'm all right, I'm in the bathroom, it's just-" She hesitated, not believing what she was going to say, considering it was beyond mortifying, but she followed through anyways. Desperate times call for desperate measures. "I am dealing with some feminine issues, and I-"
Oliver quickly interrupted her, panic edging his voice. "Say no more, I, uh, well…" There was silence for a moment before the sound of retreating footsteps greeted her ears.
Laurien almost burst out laughing at the realization that it had worked. It was completely absurd, but quite genius if one considered the facts. Good lord, there was nothing that spooked a grown man more than the monthly fertility cycle of a woman.
She rode on her high of disbelief for a few minutes before it slowly began to subside and reality sunk in once more. She was still stuck on the ground of the cramped bathroom, her shoulder was still throbbing from being dislocated and her head felt akin to a blazing fire, not to mention the heel of her foot from reflexively kicking the bathtub. Laurien genuinely had no wisp of an idea on what to do; the only thing that seemed sensible at that moment was to give in to the alluring darkness of sleep that was beckoning her.
Her slumber was not devoid of dreams as her last attempt promised; blurry likenesses of bright cars and shiny bicycles appeared on a road in single file all at a monotonous pace while the civilians stood frozen on the sidewalk, most of which were in mid step of their stroll. All of their heads seemed to point in the same direction, but when Laurien turned to gaze toward where they looked, she saw nothing. Nothing, but an outstretch of fresh countryside where two ugly office buildings were evidently supposed to be. The field seemed to go for miles into the horizon, with never ending bliss. Laurien stepped forward onto the street and effortlessly made her way through the bikes and automobiles to where the countryside laid waiting.
Her bare feet tentatively padded onto the long dew soaked grass, sending the sensation of springtime in the Netherlands through her veins. The sweet scent of fresh uncompromised air filled her lungs until Laurien felt she might burst. Exhaling, she continued forward, the tendrils of long grass tickling her fingertips as she walked and she soon found herself far away from the city, the buildings now only specks in the distance.
The sun danced a waltz across her skin, the soft rain that followed pirouetted a beautiful ballet. Laurien closed her eyes and let the recital continue as planned, feet planted and face upturned to the sky, she smiled.
As she stood there, she felt the heat of the sun warm her pale skin, but as it continued, it slowly grew hotter and hotter until it was frightfully unbearable. It was scalding her face, her shoulders burning and blistering, causing excruciating pain. Her heart felt like it would explode as her body was being boiled from the white-hot glare. She was smoldering, catching fire like an insect beneath a magnifying glass. She screamed in agony with her last breath–
Laurien's eyes flew open to the ceiling of her apartment, her chest heaving mightily. She lay in her bed, panicked blue eyes flitting around frantically as she desperately tried to regain her composure. It was just a dream, it was just a dream, she repeated mentally, trying to convince herself that she was telling the truth, but she knew that it was a lie. No amount of false reassurance and hoping was going to change history.
As she finally managed to slow her breathing rate, she quickly realized what she had failed to earlier. How had she gotten into her bed? Laurien stiffened; when she had fallen asleep, she'd been wedged between the bathtub and the toilet on the floor of the bathroom, most definitely not in her bed. She had no history of sleepwalking, and she ruled out her powers as well. She might have been able to do a lot of interesting things, but she most certainly could not do anything whilst asleep.
Cautiously, Laurien turned her head an inch and immediately shut her eyes when she glimpsed movement from the bathroom. The sound of footsteps on the old carpet floor sent such a wave of shivers up her spine as they passed the bed that she had to remind herself to breathe. The footsteps moved away from her and, if her hearing was up to par, towards the cabinet on the opposite side of the room.
Taking the risk, she opened her eyes slowly to reveal a brown leather jacketed back as whoever it was faced away from her, picking up the photo of Bastijn and Roosje from the shelf. She observed him for a moment, taking in his stature and height as her fog addled brain suddenly decided to do what felt best in the immediate situation. Laurien slowly lifted the covers up off her aching body and set them down quietly. She lifted herself off of the bed, setting her stocking feet on the carpeted floor, and, after mustering enough courage, she ran straight for him.
The man turned at the last second before Laurien caught him full on around the middle. He grunted in surprise as the momentum sent them tumbling into the moth-eaten couch and over the other side onto the floor. They collapsed to the ground, but Laurien was saved the full brunt of the force as the man's body cushioned the blow. Quickly recovering, the man grabbed her wrist, and attempted to gain the upper hand. Not having any of it, Laurien hit him full on in the face with the punch that had been previously reserved for Jack, and twisted her wrist out of his grasp as blood started to gush from the man's nose.
Attempting to ignore the dizziness that threatened to bowl her over, Laurien struggled to get fully upright, but fell heavily on the ground when the man's foot kicked her legs right out from under her. Her head screamed bloody murder when it accidentally collided with baseboard of the wall. Laurien gasped as the pain throbbed through her, feeling as if she might pass out in a moment's notice. She caught movement to her right where she had left the man as he slowly got to his feet with some effort and moved towards her.
An animalistic growl rising in her throat, Laurien waited until he had grasped her upper arm and attempted to lift her up before she sprung back into action. She grabbed his hand, pulled him forward, and, with the aid of the momentum and her powers, flipped him bodily over her shoulder. He fell on his back onto the ground, the force of the impact pushing all the air out of his chest. The move surprised her just as much as it did him; when she had initially learned the move, she never thought she'd get to use it in real life.
As he was on his back, Laurien finally managed to take the time to see his face in detail, without limbs flying everywhere. Laurien stopped dead. It couldn't be possible, she thought; she must still be dreaming, but– The apartment door suddenly opened with a dull thump, causing Laurien to whip her head around to see two bewildered people barge in.
She recognized the man immediately, but the brunette woman was unfamiliar. Nevertheless, they both strode forward into the room, the man's look of alarm almost instantaneously changed to amusement at the sight of his friend on the floor, but the woman only had pure disapproval written across her face as she stared wide eyed at Laurien.
The man stepped forward, smiling broadly as he held out a hand, "Charles Xavier." He then gestured towards the woman, "Moira McTaggart." Before finally glancing back at the man on the ground, his smile growing wider. He laughed, "And I see you've already met my associate, Erik Lensherr."
Well, now we've met Charles, Erik, and Moira. Didn't actually mean for them to meet the second time in that exact way, but it just seemed to happen. Felt bad for Erik though... Hope you all enjoyed, and please review!