Hey guys, I am so excited to present to you, chapter 11! Enjoy!
Laurien was having a blissfully dreamless sleep before she awoke with a start, as what could only be described as a wild war cry erupted from the open doorway of her bedroom, followed by a weight falling onto her duvet-covered form.
"Come on, lazy bones!" A bouncy pajama-clad Raven cried as she crawled around on top of Laurien, shaking her vigorously all the while. "Time to wake up!"
"No." Laurien groaned, her one syllable response almost inaudible as she shoved her face further into the comfortable refuge of her pillow.
Another weight joined Raven's, shaking the bed even further. "You're gonna miss out," Sean's voice told her, before lowering its volume to add, "There are waffles downstairs," as if it were a closely held secret.
At that very moment, as if Sean had summoned it, the delicious scent of waffles wafted into her room, filling it with all its glory. Laurien groaned again, the decision between sleep and waffles torturing her sleep addled mind into complete and utter madness, as Sean proceeded to start jumping on her bed.
"Come on, how about it?" Raven asked, and as Laurien turned her head to face the blonde, Raven's bottom lip jutted out in the puppy dog look that Laurien knew so well from the month-and-a-half they'd spent together. Even with the strength of her rock solid conviction, Laurien couldn't help but melt every time. Good Lord, she found herself thinking time and time again, how did Charles do it?
Laurien sighed deeply; the grand exhale of air pushing away a piece of stray caramel hair that had rudely fallen in her face. "Fine." She conceded, though as she glanced up at Raven who was perched unmoving on top of Laurien's hip, she raised an amused eyebrow. "You do realize that if I am to get up, you must first get off, right?"
"Oh!" Raven giggled, before lifting herself off of Laurien's body, pushing Sean from the bed mid-leap so he tumbled onto the floor in a heaping mess.
"I'm good." He declared as he bounced off the ground, practically sprinting for the door and the eventual destination of waffles.
Laurien kicked off the covers, shivering as she left behind the inviting warmth of the bed. She rubbed her eyes as a yawn overtook her, stars dancing before her in sporadic fashion. Raven moved about her room, picking up a photograph here or there before settling on one and turning to her. "Are these your siblings?"
Laurien padded over to her slowly to see the picture up close as she stretched. It was the one with her and her siblings holding a giant wheel of Gouda at the cheese market. She could tell that it was taken almost a week after the Easter of '53 from the band-aid on her brother's forehead. He had earned it from a run in with a tree when he lost control of his bike on the way to their aunt's for the celebration. She smiled, as she remembered how he had worn the small scrape like a badge of honor, before she nodded to Raven. "That's an old picture though. I don't have anything more recent, we didn't take too many photos after my parents died."
"Did they come to the U.S. with you?" Raven asked, setting the photo back down gently on the shelf.
"No, they needed to finish their schooling, so they were living with some extended family in Ypres." Laurien responded, choosing her words carefully. "I lost contact with them after I left for London."
Raven frowned. "Why's that?"
Laurien hesitated before opening her mouth, but was mercifully interrupted by Charles' head popping into the doorway. "Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but breakfast is getting cold. You'd both better hurry."
Raven grabbed her hand and squeezed it quickly with a smile before dashing after Charles, leaving Laurien to move back over to her bed and collapse back onto it with a satisfactory flop, her body moaning in pleasure as it eased back into the soft surface of the mattress. Her head nuzzled into the duvet to give her something to hold onto before heaving herself off her comfortable cloud and towards the wardrobe.
She blindly grabbed a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of sweatpants from the drawers and put them on before padding out into the hallway in search of the bathroom, her hair getting in her eyes as she tried to beat it into submission on the way there. She quickly brushed her teeth and wrestled her long hair into a messy ponytail before the door to the bathroom swung open to reveal a disheveled looking Alex.
Over the past month, Laurien had grown to like Alex. Once past the tough exterior, she'd come to realize that he was a real sweetheart. It seemed like only a week ago that she walked in to the common room to find him sitting huddled in front of the television, tears streaming down his face as he watched Bambi, though when he realized that she was there, he made her promise not to tell the others.
Eyes just barely open, he stumbled forwards, rubbing his face all the while before he lifted himself onto the counter and unceremoniously placed his head against the mirror with a dull clang.
"Not a morning person, huh?" Laurien observed, an amused smile creeping up her face. He responded with an awkward side nod before almost keeling off his seat. She caught him before he could do so, impulsively turning on the tap to fill her palm with a sufficient amount of water before splashing his face with it.
"Ah! What the hell?" He sputtered, cringing as the cold water seeped through the fabric of his collar. Now fully awake, he took in the scene before narrowing his eyes at her unapologetically smirking face. "Oh, so that's how you want to play?" He reached for the still running tap and splashed her back, almost completely dousing her shirt in freezing water.
She shrieked in laughter as she tried to get away from the spray, almost slipping on the wet bathroom floor as she took cover behind a bathroom stall door. She could hear him giggling on the other side of the stall, her chest tightening with foreboding at the sound before she heard the bathroom door swing shut. Tentatively, she pushed the stall door open to find that she was alone. Frowning, she quickly filled up a glass just in case and moved towards the entrance of the bathroom creaking the door open a smidge.
Seeing no one to her left, she advanced further into the hallway, only to be snatched up around the waist and hefted over Alex's shoulder. In surprise, she retaliated by clumsily overturning the entire glass of water over his head as he spun her around the hallway, both giggling uncontrollably.
He carried her all the way to the dining room where the rest were waiting, staring wide-eyed at them, both completely drenched.
"And what have you two been up to?" Charles asked, trying to hide his smile behind his hand.
Alex set her down none too gently, making her stumble backwards when her feet hit the ground, but she quickly regained her balance.
"Oh, nothing." Alex replied innocently, shaking his soaked head like a dog as he found his seat.
"Is this what happens when I leave you alone for two minutes?" Raven joked as she handed Laurien the plate of waffles once she'd sat down next to her.
"I guess so." She shrugged, smiling as she tried to catch her breath after all the excitement. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. "You know what? We should all have a water fight outside before it gets too cold."
Raven practically jumped out of her seat at the suggestion. "Yes! And we can use the buckets and sponges from the garage, and-"
Charles had to cut her off. "As fun as that would be, we've got a packed schedule today, so that'll just have to wait for another time."
Raven's shoulders slumped in disappointment as she pouted at her brother. "But Charles…"
"Wait," Hank piped up from the other side of Laurien. "What's going on today?"
"I'm glad you asked, Hank." Charles said rather formally, a mischievous grin appearing on his face. "First we have some more concentration training for all of you. Alex," He turned to the blond seated at the other side of the table. "Hank will be joining us in the bunker today, he's got an idea on how to pinpoint your aim. Secondly," He seemed greatly excited to say the next few words. "I managed to find the old projector in the attic and I thought that since you all have been working so hard this past month, that we would take an evening off for an outdoor movie night on the front lawn."
A clatter of excitement erupted from around the table, but through all the noise, Raven's voice raised above all the others. "Wait a second, which movie? Because I've never forgiven you for making me sit through almost two hours of The Conqueror."
Charles grinned even broader. "Not to worry, my dear, I believe I've learned from my mistake, and that's why I had Moira pick instead. So, until then," He said, rising from his seat. "We shall busy ourselves with training."
He left them to revel in their anticipation, beckoning for Erik to follow him. He gave Laurien a subtle wink before leaving his chair, causing her to remember their training session yesterday in the library.
Laurien had been itching to do some hand to hand combat, and considering she already knew that Erik could fight from their first meeting in her apartment, she thought it best to ask him first.
Erik had agreed, so they met up in the library and after Laurien moved all the tables to the side with her powers to set up a small clearing, they began.
"Are you sure about this?" Erik asked, grasping her arm gently before she could step onto the mat.
"What?" She said, frowning at the worry that ebbed through the hand gripping her. "Afraid I might hurt you?"
"No, well, maybe. But it's just–"
She sighed, gathering his meaning. "Believe me, Erik, I've sparred with far more dangerous individuals. You're not going to hurt me."
Erik's brow furrowed. "Is that supposed to make me feel more at ease?"
She couldn't decide whether to feel touched or annoyed at his words, but soon picked the latter. She grabbed the hand that held her in place, spinning around so her back was to him and pulled, using the leverage to flip him over, just as she had the day in they met.
The air was pushed out of his chest from the impact, causing Erik to cough, as he lay stunned on the mat. She bent down beside him, holding out a hand. "If you hurt me, I'll just hurt you back, right?"
He stared up at her, the corner of his mouth quirked up before grabbing her hand and made to get up. Suddenly, he yanked back on her arm, catching her off guard as his foot pushed against her stomach and used the momentum to flip her over his head. She hit the ground with a small grunt and a second later; he was on top of her.
He made to pin her down, but she promptly kicked one of his legs out from under him and used it to push him off balance before forcing him to the ground. Her knee dug into his stomach, her other leg securing his dominant hand to the mat while she grabbed his other wrist and pinned it above his head.
"See?" She grinned, tapping her index finger against the subtle pulse of his wrist. "I can take you any day."
"Oh, don't get cocky yet." He warned, wiggling his hand out from under her knee and grabbing her opposing shoulder, using his bigger body to dislodge her stance and quickly pinning her the same way she'd pinned him.
"Well, shit." She sighed, as she looked down at the mess she'd gotten herself into. He chuckled, giving her a quick smirk before letting her up and trying again.
Laurien's chest tightened at the memory and felt her cheeks redden involuntarily before she tried to busy herself with her waffle that had unfortunately gotten cold.
After she'd finished her breakfast, she excused herself and retrieved her runners before going for a run. She'd managed to track down her missing pair only a few days after that fateful night in the kitchen with Erik. Despite having consistently kept them in her bedroom, she quite literally stumbled upon them in the mud room after coming back inside from an evening walk with Raven. She'd mentally cursed at the runners using every nasty word she held in her repertoire of several languages as she returned them to their rightful spot by the foot of her bed, before later apologizing, considering it wasn't their fault she'd been so absentminded.
After an invigorating run and a well-deserved shower, she headed back to her room, getting out the bag of marbles Charles had given her. She poured them out onto the floor, each of them spreading out farther and farther across the hardwood until Laurien set herself down on the bed and reached out for them with her powers. They all stood still, poised to obey her every command, just like little toy soldiers.
She started them clockwise, then counter clock wise, and every which way she could think of, moving them about in lines or rows, following the leader. Though other times, she made it look as if every single marble had a mind of its own, reminding her of civilians walking down a street in New York City, some traveling faster than others, some changing their mind on where they wanted to go and going back from whence they came.
She couldn't remember how long she'd been at it, only felt like a couple of minutes, but when she finally peeled herself away from the mental exercise, her clock told her that it was already half past two. Frowning, she collected all of the marbles back into the bag before sidling over to the bookshelf near the window. Sitting cross-legged before the selection of books, she stared undecidedly at all of the titles displayed on their spines.
She sighed, pulling out each in turn before collapsing backwards onto the soothing hardwood to stare at the ceiling. Choosing what to read was hard, she thought, as she kicked her feet up into the air, seeing how long she could hold her position before she lost interest and let them fall to the ground with a clatter. She felt like she was six years old again, stuck in her room with no one to play with when Bram and Meryl were at their piano lessons. She would lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling as she was doing now, willing her mind to imagine such wondrous places to whisk her away to in her time of need.
In the end, it was always the books that seemed to provide such hospitality. The Dutch translation of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was a special favorite, considering that she had viewed Lucy and Susan as her idols growing up. Out of sheer curiosity, she sat back up and grabbed her mangled copy, being especially careful as to not rip any pages as she opened the cover and read the first sentence. One sentence became a paragraph, which admittedly turned into a page, and some time later, she found herself flipping closed the back cover with a contented sigh as she then held the book to her chest.
After placing it back on the bookshelf, she glanced up and squinted at the scene around her as she returned to reality. Her room had grown dark from the fading rays of the sun through the window, a soft glow was visible beyond the trees before it ultimately bid its goodnight and disappeared, even though when Laurien checked the clock, she saw that it was only five o'clock. The shortening days made her feel sleepy, they always had that effect on her, though it fortunately gave her an excuse to cuddle up in her pajamas and read or watch a movie. Speaking of which, she remembered, it must have been closing in on the time for their outdoor movie night.
As if on cue, Charles' voice suddenly filled her head with its melodious lilting accent. "Laurien, would you be so kind as to help us with setting up? The projector screen is being a right pain."
"Of course." She smiled, getting up to her feet. "I'll be right there."
Once she'd reached where they were setting up, she fixed the problem in no time. With Laurien using her powers to raise the screen to cover the windows of the second floor and insert the nails, it only took ten minutes. The rest of the party showed up soon after, bearing popcorn and soft drinks, which they distributed among themselves as they nestled together with blankets on the lawn before Charles jumped to his feet.
"I'm sure you've all been wondering what film we will be showing tonight, so without further ado, I am proud to present…" He paused, the effort for dramatic effect torturing them even further. "Casablanca!"
Laurien heard Raven's sigh of relief at the same time that Sean groaned, seemingly hoping for a western or the James Bond film that had come out a week ago. Both reactions were interrupted by the sound of the projector whirring to life as the picture appeared upon the sheet with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman's names displayed in the opening credits.
She looked to her side where Erik had seated himself, blanket draped loosely around his shoulders as the black and white opening titles were reflected in his eyes. He soon noticed her looking at him, smiling softly as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, sharing his pleasant warmth. He kissed her tenderly on the forehead before they both turned back to the screen as the narration started.
Laurien felt her heart swell. The last time she'd seen Casablanca was on her fourteenth birthday when they played it on their tiny television in Alkmaar. She'd only been two when it first came out, too young to go see it in theaters on the big screen in all its glory, but here she finally was, viewing it the way it was supposed to be experienced.
The popcorn quickly disappeared along with the soft drinks as the movie continued, and as Laurien pulled her eyes away from the screen to look around her, she was pleased to see that everyone was utterly captivated. There was something addicting about watching someone watch a movie. She didn't know if she felt creepy in thinking so, but she found when people were so drawn into a film, they seemed to forget who they were trying to be and just sat together in pure honesty with one another. Though as soon as the screen dims and the lights come back on, the magic was gone, so she thought it best to take this rare opportunity to witness her fellow mutants as their true selves.
Sean and Alex were huddled next to each other in their blankets as they watched the movie. Sean picked a piece of popcorn from Alex's hair and promptly ate it like a chimp as Alex grimaced comically and batted Sean's hand away when he reached for another.
On her other side, Hank seemed to be studying the events on the screen, as if he were trying to memorize what Bogart did and said as he walked around Rick's Café. His eyes flit every other second to Raven who sat staring wide-eyed up at the screen as Bergman entered the shot, her elegance owning the room. Oh, goodness, they were perfect for each other, Raven and Hank. Laurien just wondered if they knew it at all.
Charles, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. Laurien glanced around her and towards the front doors of the mansion, but nothing. A sense of unease swept over her, before she quickly brushed it off, feeling annoyed with herself. She just couldn't stop worrying, could she? She was safe here, why couldn't she accept that?
Erik nudged her arm gently, bringing her attention back from its place of anxiety as he held out his hand to her. "May I have this dance?"
She glanced up at him, eyebrow raised in utter confusion before she looked to the screen and saw Sam at the piano playing "As Time Goes By" as Bergman sat near him, tears in her eyes as she listened to the song that meant the world to her.
Laurien too felt her eyes welling up as she took Erik's hand, letting him sweep her up from her seat and take her into his arms as the melody rang out in their ears. He moved her smoothly, gently swaying from side to side, her left hand on his shoulder as he held her waist, their free hands twining together perfectly. The other soon followed suite, Hank shyly holding Raven as she led him around, while Sean and Alex did a greatly exaggerated waltz around the two pairs, doing deep lunges before jumping up and skipping to the right or left.
She found it hard to hold back her tears, as Erik kissed her on the cheek, soon finding a few streaming down her face. Erik looked at her with deeply caring eyes. "Laurien, darling, what's wrong?"
She giggled through her tears, laughing at her ridiculousness as she tried to wipe them away. "Oh, no, it's nothing. I'm sorry, it's just that– God, this song brings back so many memories, it's wonderful."
"It's strange, isn't it?" He said, smiling sweetly as he wiped away the last tear. "How something a simple as a song can do such a miraculous thing."
Laurien nodded, sniffing softly as he pulled her closer, her head resting on his chest, the beat of his heart perfectly complimenting the tune.
"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world," He quoted, wrapping his arms tightly around her and resting his chin on her head. "She walks into mine."
She let out a small laugh before burying her face into his coat, smelling the pleasant combination of cedar and coffee, wishing that she could pause this moment and live in it forever. The soft melody and words, so utterly enchanting as they continued to sway back and forth, both holding each other tightly. It was almost as if they knew that it was going to be one of the last times.
For as Bogart stopped the music, the moment was similarly interrupted by Charles, who came jogging from the mansion, bringing with him a sense of dread that permeated the air around them.
"I've just had word from Moira," He panted once he'd reached the group, his eyes darkening as he looked at every one of them. "President Kennedy made his address, the Americans and the Soviets are setting up a blockade near Cuba, and this time," He paused at Erik, staring him straight in the eye as he uttered the condemning words. "It's worse than we ever previously imagined."
Uh, okay. I've gotta be honest with you guys, I cried multiple times as I wrote the second half of this chapter. If you don't believe me , just read it again while listening to "As Time Goes By". God, I am so emotionally wrecked right now. Oh, man. Well, on a brighter note, Casablanca is an excellent movie, you should all make the time to see it. An absolute classic. I got to see Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks. It was very good, I gave it a 9/10. I love Tom Hanks, especially in You've Got Mail. All right, I'm rambling, but I hope you all enjoyed, and please review! Thanks!