SOUR CANDY | P. MAXIMOFF [ DISCONTINUED ]

12 | THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

12 | THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Cassie knew that the moment she told the teenager about her offer, she would not decline. And it wasn't some petty guess or even weighing of chances through probability, it was a fact. How'd she know it? Simple. Because she was an empath. She has the capability to traverse the depth of human emotions by simply existing in the same space as other people. Cassie can experience another human's emotion as if it was her own and although she might not be a telepath like Charles or Jean, she can feel people's thoughts. She can sense their desires and aspirations and how it pushes them to do things, even the unspeakable ones.

And as for people like Charlotte, who never had anyone to tell them they are perfectly normal and that there's nothing wrong with them, they will search for it in the wrong places, even if it means that they get exploited. Because love and understanding are powerful things and every single human being in this world craves for that. Because there is nothing far greater than being understood and loved. And people that are starved of those can get desperate. Putting themselves in danger to get a taste of it.

She knows how that feels like, she's been there. It was a terrible thing to feel that there's something terribly wrong with you because you do not live by the society's standard of what normalcy should look like. And for her, it felt like pouring salt in an open wound. And wounds that don't heal properly create deformities that are condemned by mankind as ugly.

Cassie shots a sidelong glance to the platinum blonde walking beside her. There is a mask of serenity and euphoria on her face. But beneath her storm gray eyes, she can feel her anxiety boiling like hot water as it threatens to spill. And the feeling makes Cassie fidgety. As if she was waiting for something that's never going to happen. The feeling of anticipation coursing through her makes Cassie restless.

Sure, she has been around Peter countless times and judging by how his mutant ability seems to mirror his personality, Cassie should've been used to having to live in an atmosphere clouded with restlessness, right? Wrong. Peter might be the type of person who can't stay in a single place, which he is by the way, for quite some time but it just feels...different. She can't explain how but the feeling was closer to euphoria than restlessness and even if it was, restlessness was supposed to drain you and not make you feel recharged.

She shook her head. If the number one problem of being a telepath is constantly hearing voices in your head, the number one problem of being an empath is experiencing other people's emotions in real time and feeling everything. And it gives Cassie the urge to be constantly on guard that something bad might happen.

Sighing, she concentrated into feeling the little threads of energy around her and when she finally found Charlotte's, she reached out for it. The force nearly knocked the wind out of her. She knows she's going to be mad at her for doing this, because other people's feelings are not her business despite experiencing it twice worse than them, but she can't help it. When she could finally feel it as though it's just beneath her skin, she took a deep breath and started calming her down with the feeling of assurance. After that, she took a deep breath and let go of it. The feeling is only temporary, it will emerge once again if she was triggered and if that happens, it is beyond Cassie's control. Too much meddling with other people's emotions might permanently scar them. Both emotionally and mentally.

"I am just going to say that you can tell me how you feel rather than bottling it all up," she said, still keeping an eye on her. Charlotte turned her head at her, brows furrowed as confusion and suspicion rose in her. Cassie simply shrugged her shoulders and averted her gaze ahead of her. She walked towards the plane's staircase."I am just saying that there are things better said than left unheard. I don't want to bring you to that place going through intense emotional turmoil." She paused and looked back at her. "Because I don't want you to feel like you don't have a choice and frankly, you don't. But still, it's better I hear your thoughts." Cassie waited for her response. And because she's capable of feeling, she can literally sense her thought process. "I know you have doubts and I think I might be able to help with that."