One More Time - A "The New Mutants" Story

-Problem Solver-

CHAPTER TWS: mention of death, mention of murder/killing (SPOILERS, all occurred in New Mutants film!!)

Dani's POV:

As I continued staring out the window, I thought to myself about my conversation with Rahne and what I'll do to get back to her. I know that she probably feels lost without me; maybe hopeless, too. So it's my job to save myself if I ever want to see her again. Thoughts and options filled my mind in seconds-- breaking the window? No, I'd most likely hurt myself doing that. Fight him when he's least expecting it? Probably not the best option. He's more powerful than I am. Hm..

"Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but that won't work."

" You're stuck with me, sweetheart. "

For some reason, it was spoken exactly like the voice inside my head, drowning out the thoughts that were coming. I took a glance at the man beside me and realized, he was yet again communicating through my brain. His lips showed no sign of movement, and he was intensely focused on the front of the road. I turned my side glance into a death glare and held that while forcing out a deep sigh. "Hey, I'm not the one who agreed to something and is now trying to get out of it," He said, still looking ahead. "At least I'm not taking your phone away. Do I have to?"

I moved my own eyes to the front with him to avoid eye contact, then said, "No."

"Then stop texting her."

Taking one quick look down at the phone face-down in my lap, I listened closely to his words while he spoke. "And give up, the car's going too fast for any plan to work. Unless you were to hurt me and take the wheel, which I doubt you'd even try." Finally, he looked over at me, so I met his eyes as much as I didn't want to. "And what is your problem all of a sudden? Were we not just getting along?" Now that I was looking at him, I had to choose my response carefully, so I took a second to think about it before actually executing it. "We were for a second, then I realized how sketchy it is to go into a car with someone who claims to be taking you somewhere safe that you've known for less than-, what is it? Six-ish hours now?" I asked rhetorically, then proceeded talking because I didn't want to wait for an actual reply. "And I know you're gonna pull the 'I've given you answers, you've asked too many questions' card. But I've actually asked less than enough questions to get me to really understand you. So I hope it finally makes sense to you on why I'm backing out now."

I watched Leon hold back something, then let words flow out like the perfect trick could simply come to him. "Okay, well, first of all, I gave you as many answers as you asked for and it started annoying me, because I'm actually a good person and it's not very helpful when others refuse to believe that." Oh, of course he's pulling this card. "And second, I have no idea what you want. More answers?" Leon asked.

"No matter what, another question will appear. So what is it that you want right now, Dani?" My name-- well, nickname-- struck something in my stomach and made it turn a bit, but I kept my face still to ignore it. "What are you going to do to me?" I asked, slight hesitation pouring out into the question. "I feel like you're gonna do something and I want the truth, seriously."

"If you really want the truth," he started. "Fine. But if you even think about telling one of your friends, the phone's out the window. Okay? You won't say a word?" The inner part of myself so badly wanted to roll it's eyes, give a side glare, something that would give this guy what he deserves. Every inch of me did, really. But I had to stay calm. This is my one chance. And if I mess it up, I definitely won't be getting the answers that I need, or the conclusion that I had a strong 'want' for. "I promise. Just tell me," I finished my statement by sounding as sincere and genuine as I possibly could. It seemed to work, because right away, his face changed to a more relaxed(ish) state and his lips parted to form the words I want to hear. "Alright," he replied.