Despite the fact that winter was still upon New York, the sun beat down on the Westchester mansion, home of many mutants, including himself. He watched as the cherry red Porsche pulled up the long, winding driveway to the school's gate. After a moment's hesitation, the gate gave way to make room for the car to pull through. Logan watched a moment more, until the vehicle pulled into the spacious garage, then he moved his finger away, allowing the curtain to fall back into place over the window.
Grabbing hold of a shirt hanging on a bedpost, he pulled it over his head and glanced into his mirror. He looked like...well...the way he wanted to. Intimidating. He didn't want the new student to walk around thinking otherwise. He'd allowed someone else to see the real thing, and look where that led the two of them. Him, walking around, seemingly dead from the inside out, and her, cold and buried under the ground.
Growling at the thought, his hands reflexively twisted into fists at his side, claws itching beneath his skin. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet as he made his way down the hallway. Looking at the walls, adorned with photos of the many students wandering around the school. He wasn't entirely sure why the new student who was arriving today meant anything to him. He certainly didn't care, and the chances of speaking to her again after today were slim to nil. Still, that fear which he placed in people's hearts must be instilled in the first day, or else she's liable to become attached and curious about him.
He wasn't prepared for what met his eyes. A fairly short girl, maybe 5'5, 5'6 at the most, with auburn hair just up to her shoulders was standing beside Jean Grey. She had the same, pale skin coloring as another young girl who'd stood silently, staring at him, pleading for help. Shaking memories of that girl from his mind, he concentrated on the one in front of him. His imagination was kicking in, for though the girl's eyes were large, almost puppy like, they were hazel, instead of the rich brown he'd first seen. She was painfully thin, and he noticed, she didn't look around in curiosity as the other new students did. Were he still the type to feel, he'd have wondered why.
"Logan!" He looked to see Jean waving him over to where she and the girl stood. He was reluctant, suddenly, to go. Still, needing to save face, he slowly descended down the staircase, working up a look that said "I couldn't care less."
Reaching the two in the foyer, he stopped, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and looked, unimpressed, at the new girl. "Hey Jeannie. Hey kid." He noticed that the girl didn't raise her eyes from the ground to look at him. In fact, were it not for his heightened senses, he might not have heard her "hello" in reply. He glanced at Jean, who was, in turn, offering him an annoyed glare as she slowly placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and turned her in Logan's direction.
"Unfortunately, I have a dinner to make. Ororo is ill, Hank is wrapped in another invention of his, and Scott...well...if we let Scott do the cooking, we'd all starve long before he could pull a decent meal together. Logan, if you would, please show Eva around the school." He opened his mouth to protest, but paused when a voice inside his head demaned sternly, "Not now." Cracking his neck in annoyance, he stooped down and snatched the suitcase that was resting on the ground up into one of his large, calloused hands, then turned toward the stairs.
"Follow me." He started up them, not paying any attention to the small form that remained where she'd been since he'd first spotted her. Finally, his ears picked up the sense that no one was following him. Becoming more and more agitated with each passing minute, he slowly turned on his heels to look at her. "What? Did you decide to claim that patch of the hallway for yourself, or do you want a room?" More anger built up in him when the girl didn't even look in his direction. When he spoke to someone, dammit he liked to be looked at, so he knew they were paying clear enough attention. He was about to bound down there and inform that girl of just who she was deciding to ignore, when a small voice spoke out.
"I'm sorry Mr.Logan I..." Raising an eyebrow, he watched as the kid moved her hands about, taking a few moments before she could latch onto the suitcase handle beside her. Slowly, realization started to hit. "I can't see..." He tried not to let emotions in. He didn't want to feel sorry for what he'd said. He didn't want to apologize for his attitude and let pity and understanding for this girl in. That could only end in tragedy. Turning around a moment, he clenched his eyes shut before starting back down the stairs and lightly latching onto her elbow.
They ascended up the majestic staircase silently. He pretended not to hear the small sniffling sounds of the girl behind him. Instead, he concentrated on trying to find out which room she was in. When at last they found it, he set her suitcase down and raised his hand to knock. When silence answered, he groaned inward, then gripped the doorknob, ready for a pillow to be thrown at his head the moment he opened the door. It wouldn't be the first time, and much to his annoyance, it wouldn't be the last.
However, when he opened the door, nothing happened. No giggling girls squealed and threw pillows at him, no loud, annoying music met his ear. It was dead silent. Taking a step inside, he saw that there were two beds, both empty. The bookshelves, pushed against the wall next to the beds, were empty. There wasn't any of the usual clutter that came from being a girl's room. Of course, he chose, for the time, not to care. Not to ask questions. Just get that girl in her room and leave before he did something stupid, like get attached again.
"Here's your room kid." Taking hold of her elbow again, he pulled her inside, until she was in front of him, and he was free to make an escape to the door. He watched her a moment. She remained frozen, stiff, and silent. Running a hand through his hair, he frowned, not sure what to do. He knew this was probably some trick on Jean's part, to get him to open up to someone again. But that time was gone. He was a new person now. Someone who didn't tell anyone anything he didn't feel like mentioning. And no scrawny little kid was going to make him do otherwise. "Look, I have things to do. I'll get someone else to come up and help you unpack." Pushing aside the sense that he was a coward, he grabbed hold of the doorknob and slammed it behind him, stalking down the hallway to look for someone else to get the kid settled in.
She winced as the door slammed shut, almost jumping out of her skin. The man was gone. She turned her head left and right, though there really was no point in it. Everything remained enveloped in darkness as it had since she was three. Taking in a deep breath, she wrinkled her nose against the stale smell that wafted in and around her. The room must be empty, and must have been empty for quite some time before she arrived. It smelled of old, emptiness, mixed with lemon scented pinesol. She couldn't blame them. Even she hadn't learned of her going to this school until the day before she was to leave. That didn't leave them with much time to prepare for her.
Letting out the breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding, Eva moved her hands about, knowing she'd set her suitcase down right beside her. Well, one of them, anyway. The other one could be anywhere. There was no telling how big the room was, until she walked around to study it. And she couldn't do that with a little help. From the sound of things, help wouldn't be there until that man found someone who wasn't busy.
Finally, her hand made contact with the suitcase handle, and she picked it up, then slowly began to step forward in search of the dresser. She'd learned that taking big, bold steps in unfamiliar places was unhealthy. More than once she'd ended up with big bruises encompassing her knees or shins. Still, she took it in stride, laughing some of the time, because if she didn't, she knew she'd cry instead.
One thing was certain, she wasn't used to having to do things on her own. For the most part, her family did just about everything for her, except live. They cooked, they cleaned, they got her dressed, they helped her around the house...it was unnerving most of the time. She knew they were trying to protect her, but sheltering her from any experience that might be different and new was only causing more pain. Still, she remained quiet, allowing them to help her, to make them feel better about her situation.
Now, more than anything, she wanted to have them back here, helping her. She was alone, in a room that was black everywhere, and completely foreign to her. It was like being thrown into a world unlike your own, blindfolded. There was nothing so terrible as not knowing what you were up against, even if the present danger was no more than an unknown room.
She was on the verge of panicking when a knock on the door sent a surge of relief coursing through her. He'd come back! "Come in..." She dropped her eyes to the floor, listening as he came back into her room, padding over to where she was standing. The moment she heard it, the odd, almost happy footfall, she knew she was wrong. That man hadn't come back. He'd sent someone else in his place. She was glad of it. He had been the one to leave her here, ready to break into tears of frustration. But now, someone who would help her sort things out was here, and she didn't have to worry so much anymore.
"Here, let me help you with that..." The voice was deep, but not unlike a teenagers. The owner could be no more than...eighteen, she decided. True, she was blind, but with her mutation, her other senses were above average. It was an ironic gift, to be lacking in one area, but to make up for it in all the others. She felt the suitcase being taken from her hand, and was glad for it. It was rather heavy. She'd filled an entire one just with books, and with her luck, she'd managed to take that one instead of the one filled with her clothes. "Hey...what have you got in here, a rock collection?" She heard an exasperated grunt, then a loud THUD as the suitcase must have hit the floor. Eva bit her lip to keep from laughing, and shook her head.
"Books. I'm sorry, I should have warned you."
"Serves me right for being overeager to help a beautiful lady." Her eyes widened, and a heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks as she dropped her eyes back to the floor. A faint chuckle could be heard a few steps before her. "I'm Bobby Drake. Resident Ferris Bueller, at your service."
"Ferris...Bueller...?" She searched her memory for where she might have heard the name before, but sadly drew a blank.
"Yep. From Ferris Bueller's Day Off. One of the best movies of all times." Another blush ran through her as she managed to find the bed, which was three steps behind her, and sit down upon it. She heard the latch from her suitcase click, then heard a shuffling of sorts as, she imagined, Bobby went through her things.
"Oh. Well...I haven't ever seen a movie before..." She'd used to sit down, in the living room, and listen to the movies while her parents described them, but it grew too painful and too strenuous to try it. She had to concentrate too hard on it to be free to enjoy it. Which is why she allowed books to be her refuge. She could read Braille, and she had nothing that could distract her from picturing the events in the books.
"One day, you and I will have to watch it. Soon as Hank is finished." Ah yes, the reason she was brought to the school in the first place. True, she was a mutant, but unlike the others, she'd managed to control her powers. At least, those she knew of. The Professor wanted to examine her and see if others were still present that she hadn't noticed. As of late, the only mutations she had to worry about were flight and heightened senses. The main reason she'd been brought there was because of a certain Doctor McCoy, who was rumored to be a genius. At the moment, he was studying blindness and, according to her parents, was on the verge of a scientifical breakthrough which could restore her sight.
Of course, sight didn't come without a hitch. She had to play guinea pig in a few experiments to help move his studies along. A few pokes here, a few questions there...it shouldn't be too hard. "Want some help?" She realized the boy was basically doing all her work for her, and as much as she appreciated it, she wanted to help. She heard the momentary silence, probably as he contemplated how a blind girl could possibly help him.
"Sure. It'll take me a lifetime to sort through all these books." Eva laughed, standing to her feet once more and blushing some yet again. "There's an awful lot of Jane Austen among them. Must be a favorite, huh?"
"Can't help it...she's so good at writing love stories. You never know what's going to happen until you read the very last page."
Slowly, holding her arms out slightly at her side, she made her way over to Bobby, wobbling slightly. Unfortunately, she found the suitcase Mr.Logan had left in the middle of the room the hard way, tripping over it and crying out in surprise.
Luckily, a pair of strong hands grabbed ahold of her waist, pulling her back to her feet and helping her to steady herself. "That first step's a doozy, huh?" It took a moment for the comment to sink in, but when it did, she started to laugh. She felt, through the hands still on her, that Bobby was doing the same. "You okay?"
"Sure." When she had steadied herself, with no threat of toppling over anytime soon, he released her, an action which didn't entirely please her. She hadn't interacted with a boy her age in forever. She already found herself growing attached to this boy, Bobby, and she'd only just met him. "Okay...I need your help..."
"Sure thing. What's up?"
"Just...show me where the books are...and where the bookcase is."
"No problem." Suddenly, she felt a hand gently wrap around her wrist and pull it down slightly. "I set the suitcase on the dresser, so we won't have to keep bending up and down."
"Ah. A genius like his friend Dr.McCoy." She picked up one of the books, and allowed him to lead her hand over to where the bookshelf was. After a few tries, she managed to get the general path down, and could do it without any assistance. Still, Bobby managed to get about 99 percent of the work done on his own, which disheartened her. It must have taken him longer, having her in the way. Maybe learning to do things herself wasn't such a good idea...
"All right. Books are in...though...the bookcase looks like it's sagging a little bit under all that weight. It'd take me three lifetimes to read that many novels." She heard him whistle slightly, and could almost feel his eyes sweeping over the many books she had.
"Well...in my situation...there's not much else you can do."
"That's not true. There's plenty you could do."
"Like what?"
"Well. You can rollerblade, swim, hike, dance, go for a bike ride, goof off in the rec room...there're a ton of things available for you to do." Suppressing the sigh that was about to pass through her lips, Eva forced a smile.
"But how many of those things can I do alone?" She didn't want to pity herself. She didn't want to think of all the things she couldn't do. She wanted to go back to feeling that reading was the only thing that she needed. That and a few moments of human interaction, which would so turn her off of mankind that she would turn back to the world of fiction, where things were always happy and even women who weren't beautiful had something else that men desired. No one was left out. There were no mean Mr.Logan's to leave the damsel inside a large, empty, quiet, black cell. And if there were, there was a Bobby Drake, standing below the window, climbing up the girl's hair to reach her...
"Hey..." She felt a gentle nudge against her chin, making her smile slightly. "No reason to get upset. So you need a little help doing things sometimes. A lot of those things you can learn to do by yourself...but you need to rely on someone to pull you through the lessons. Everyone relies on someone at some time in their life."
"Yeah? Who did you need?"
"The Professor. And Mr.Summers. They saved me from being lynched."
"Um...lynched? As in...hanged?? I didn't realize they still did that sort of thing..." A shiver coursed down her spine and, for the first time, she realized she wasn't the only person who had things rough.
"Yeah well. Things worked out in the end. Just like in the fairy tales." Eva blushed slightly, suddenly embarrassed for believing in all those romance stories she'd read all her life. Was it really so silly, though, to hope that one day someone loved you so much that...
Sighing, she realized what a ridiculous thought that was.
This day and age was nothing like the last. Men weren't gallant...ladies weren't fair...everyone was equal. All this depression was clearly getting to her, and must have been visible on her face, because suddenly Bobby was trying to rectify the situation. "Hey. Why not come down to the rec room with me after dinner. I'll introduce you to my friends, then we can work on teaching you some things. There's a fairly long sidewalk wrapping around the school. I can teach you to rollerblade...if you'd like..."
"Any chance we could start with something a little easier? Like...taking a walk?" She felt a little foolish asking, but after living a life without taking chances, it seemed like a good place to start. She wanted to get to know her surroundings...so that if she ever did go out on her own, she wouldn't be totally lost. It was all a matter of breaking the place up into steps. Three steps to the door, seven steps to go downstairs...things like that.
"Sure. Whatever you like is fine by me." Eva smiled gratefully, not realizing til then how tired she actually was. It had been a long drive from her home in Pittsburg, all the way to Westchester New York, one in which she slept as little as possible. Mainly, she listened as her father detailed the countryside for her. It sounded beautiful. One day, she'd be able to go and see it for herself. One day... "Hey Eva...you look a little tired. Why don't you get some sleep? I'll come get you for dinner, if that's okay?"
"That sounds fine...thanks Bobby."
"Any time." After he helped her into bed, Eva felt a slight squeeze on her hand before it was released. She hadn't noticed, until then, just how cold his hands were. She wondered if that had something to do with his mutation.
Too weary to think about anything else at the moment, she closed her eyes, reminding herself to ask him about his hands when she saw him again for dinner. After that, it was only a matter of moments before she was asleep.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
This is not, I repeat NOT! a fic about Logan's love life. I'm a true blue Logan/Marie supporter!