Unspoken Fears

Chapter 6~ Pretending to Be Friends

The next morning Erik and Charles were going out to look for other mutants. Charles was already waiting outside for Erik, but I grabbed Erik's wrist to stop him just inside. "Where are you going?"

He gave me a gentle smile. "I'm going to help Charles."

"You're not afraid..." I crossed my arms and lowered my voice to a whisper, "You're not afraid they're going to round us up?"

Erik nodded slowly. "I am. The best way for me to be able stop it is to be involved from the beginning."

"Let me come with you." I didn't intend to beg. I intended for it to be it be a statement but it sounded like a pitiful plea. He shook his head before I even finished the sentence. "I'm a mutant too. Let me out." Don't make me stay trapped here by myself. Sure, Raven was staying too, but if it came down to it, would Raven fight with me? Or would it be everyone for himself? I might be on my own. What if they locked us up and experimented on us while Erik was out? What if they took Erik away and never let him back?

"If I know where you are it will be easier to find you if I need to," He said simply.

I clenched my jaw. "And what if they don't let you back? What if they move me?"

The door opened from outside and Charles stuck his head in. "Coming, Erik?"

"I'll be right there," He said without looking away from me.

"I'm coming with you," I said loud enough for Charles to hear, while glaring at Erik.

"Natalia-"

"You can't keep me trapped here," I spat out, voice low.

Charles approached, his gaze going back and forth between Erik and I. "There are benefits to you staying here," he started calmly. He held up a hand before I respond. "For example, your... challenge to always keep things under control could scare or hurt potential mutants we are trying to recruit."

Erik nodded at me, his face neutral but I knew him well enough to see the smug shine in his eyes. "Why do you always want to keep me away from things?" I turned to Erik and shoved his shoulder so hard he stumbled back a step. A light bulb flickered violently on a wall a few feet away, but there was no sparks. "I follow you around the globe, all I want to do is be a part of your life but you hide me away for when you're ready to have me around. I'm not staying here by myself with government officials; you know what they do to us, Erik."

Charles glanced around nervously, insuring no one would witness this.

"I'll run. I won't-" my voice broke off in a sob I silenced.

Charles's voice lowered to a near silent whisper, "If you start talking about running, they very well may lock us up. If you pretend to cooperate you may gain information. Pretending to be friends can get you further sometimes than announcing you're enemies. Ideally we wouldn't be split up, not like this when we only trust each other. But... Erik and I will gain information and friends while we are out there, and you can gain information and trust by the people here. We need to prove to them we can be assets."