Patience( Book Two)

Year One

Cause if we don't leave this town,

We might never make it out.

_____________Charlie______________

Charles Xavier wouldn't call himself a hoarder, he felt that too negatively shadowed what he did. He considered himself more of an eccentric collector of moments, things that reminded him of those moments, and objects that were unique. Over the years he had acquired hundreds of objects from ticket stubs to dried flowers in jars. Each thing had a place and a moment that immortalized it. From the dried dandelions from the cabin last summer when he and Erik first kissed to the carefully preserved posters from the Peaches first show. Yes, Charles liked to think of himself as a little more organized, a little more purposeful than your run of the mill hoarder. He didn't know exactly why he collected things, he chalked it up to some psychology he was too tired to read into.

Charles looked about his room and sighed, he was almost done. His room is now a carcass of its former self. It was strange, how much he was leaving behind and just how little of this life he would be carrying forward. Most of his belongings would go to charity, keeping only the things of significance. It was healthy, he told himself, letting go. He had managed to fit his almost twenty years of life into two suitcases. Over the past year he had gotten rid of everything that reminded him of the bad time in his life from clothing to concert stubs to random objects like receipts from dinners. It wasn't easy, but it was necessary. And slowly it got easier to let go, and he thought there was something pretty poetic about that.

It was a hot May morning and the dewy humidity was creeping through his open windows and patio. The songs of the wildlife outside harmonized with the old jazz record he had on his turntable. He was beginning to get that overwhelmed feeling, too much to do in too little time. But, all he had to do was look at his door where he had thumbtacked up the plane ticket and his acceptance letter. It was a reminder of what all this was for, and that it would all undoubtedly be worth it. The idea to move came to him almost immediately after Erik announced his own departure. In fact, he'd packed and unpacked a bag nearly fifty times between the time they got back from the cabin and the time Erik left. It was a constant fight between his heart and mind, the wild romantics of film filtering his rationale with great ideas. But, every time he would have to tell himself that he was in no place to uproot his finally stable life somewhere entirely new. He needed support which meant his sister, who had not even graduated high school yet. He had obligations here that weren't ready to be tied up just yet. So, he made a promise to himself. One more year, enough time to get Raven stable, himself ready and more than enough time to tie up loose ends.

The past year had been kind to him, injuries had healed only leaving the occasional scar. His black bruises had faded to purple before turning into dandelions that brushed away as sweetly as the summer breeze. He had to build himself from the ground up, and he had to do it alone. With Erik gone it left him to really evaluate himself, who he was and what he wanted. It took a long time, most days were hell, but he had done it. He had found his voice again, found passion in things he loved and now he was off to the next chapter with the man he loved. In fact, everyone was off to new places and new things. It was bittersweet in a way, Charles had spent the last year making arrangements for his new life and helping everyone else plan theirs. It was fun, exhausting and absolutely amazing to see the dreams his friends had built in their minds. At the time it seemed so far away, but now that they're here and this is the last day they will all be in Brooksville it was almost heartbreaking. He wished Erik was here, most days he wished he was here. 

Charlie taped the final box closed and labeled it "Charity". That was it, the final action to say, 'yes I'm leaving and this time it's okay.' His obligations to his friends were no longer needed, they had all grown-up tremendously over the past year. Maturity sculpting their actions, and for the first time he wasn't at all needed. And he knew that should, in some way, scare him but it made him feel proud.