Temper in Red *Editing*

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

"You guys are heading out today." It wasn't so much as a question, but a statement as I sat at the base with Storm and the others. Everything about this situation seemed to be tense, there was no chit chat that used to be so common between all of us back at the school. Now there was only silence and awkward glances, as if we were all strangers.

"Its been made clear that your team no longer needs us." Storm shook her head. "You've lost track of Creel and, even if you hadn't, it's clear that he isn't the type of man that would settle into a life back at the school."

"When are you leaving?" I asked them.

"Mack is refueling our jet now, we'll be out of here before too long." Bobby told me. I just nodded, I didn't know what else to say to them.

"Well, I'm gonna go say bye to that Skye girl." Peter said as he got up from his seat, glancing around at the others.

"We'll join you." Bobby nodded as he, Rogue, and Kitty followed Peter out of the room. It wasn't long before Storm followed their lead, saying something about contacting Logan. Soon enough it was just Scott and I left in the room, just sitting together in silence.

"This is really what you left for?" Scott broke the silence after a few minutes. "To get shot? To be thrown into the ocean to die? To work with people who don't trust you?"

"They do trust me." I shook my head, disagreeing with him.

"I've only been here for a day and a half, but I've seen the way some of them look at you and it's not with trust." He insisted. "Sure, some of them do, but very little of them do."

"Hey, I don't trust Lance either." I shrugged, trying not to let his words get to me.

"What about Mack? Izzy? Antoine? May? Billy?" He began to list more people off to me, looking over at me for the first time as he got out of his seat and cross the room so he was standing in front of me. "Only three people here seem to trust you, but you seem more than willing to stick your neck out for all of them. Why?"

"Because, that's what you do for the people you care about. It's what you all showed me back at the school, being willing to risk your own life to save the ones you care about." I stood up, looking him right in the eyes as I spoke. "I know I hurt you all when I decided not to come back and all I gave you was a phone call, but they need me. HYDRA has files on people we know Scott. I can't just walk away when I know that my friends are at risk. And I know you wouldn't do that if you were in my shoes."

"How long?" He asked me and he stuck his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not sure," I was honest with him. "Until HYDRA is brought down, for good."

"I love you Veronica." He spoke in a whisper now as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and took my hands in his. "I love you and I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you, I still am. But I can't wait forever, it's not fair to either of us."

"What are you saying?" I asked, though I knew I didn't want to hear his answer.

"I'm saying, be careful. Don't make it a habit to go off and get shot. Make sure to check in with the others so they know you're alright." He told me before leaning down and placing a soft kiss of my forehead. It felt so familiar yet so final at the same time, as if this were the last time we were going to see one another. "I love you Veronica."

"I love you too Scott." All I could do was watch as he walked out of the room, not looking back once. As he turned down the hall and disappeared from my sight I opened my hands to see a ring sitting in my palm.