Fervent Feelings

X1 Chapter 1 - Where Your Eyes Don't Go

When I was little, I lived next door to two brothers. One of them, Scott, was seventeen and always seemed kind of tired, like being a teenager was a full-time job. Still, my parents had him babysit me all the time. He never complained, at least not to me.

His older brother, Alex, was louder, sharper, always coming and going. I didn't know what he did, just that he was gone a lot, and when he was home, everything felt more solid. More safe.

Back then, Scott would walk me to the park down the street. I'd pump my legs on the swings and he'd stand nearby, pretending not to watch but never really looking away.

But behind all the fun times with the Summers, something in me started to shift.

I couldn't explain it at the time—I didn't even have the words for it—but when someone around me got upset, I did too. If someone cried, I cried. If someone yelled, I'd shut down. And it wasn't just copying. It was like I absorbed it. Like their emotions lived in my skin. I didn't know how to turn it off.

At first, my parents called it a phase. Then they started avoiding me. Whispering. Leaving me with the Summers more often. And eventually... they stopped coming back.

No big scene. No final goodbye.

One night, they had Scott come over to babysit, and that was it. They never returned.

I didn't find out until later that Alex had seen their car pulling into the driveway a week later—saw them come back just to grab the last of their things. He was the one who confronted them, who called them out for leaving a child behind like she was a broken lamp.

But by then, it didn't matter. They were already gone.

And I was the freak they didn't know how to deal with.

The Summers took me in when they didn't have to. That's when I learned the truth about myself—what I am, what they are. A mutant. The memories of my life before the Summers are hazy, fragments of a past I can barely recall. I don't remember much about my parents, their faces or voices. After that, I was sheltered, and kept myself away from people, terrified at the idea of being around others. My 'mutation' was far from a gift—it was a curse. I could feel people's emotions as if they were my own. If someone nearby was scared, that fear would consume me too—my heart racing, breaths coming in short, staggered gasps, the hair on my neck standing on end.

When Scott's mutation manifested not even a week later, Alex sat us down and told us about him—Professor Xavier. The idea of leaving the place I had grown up in terrified me; they were the only people I ever felt safe with. But Alex reassured me, and before long, I found myself in Westchester, New York, far from the familiar world I knew.

Seventeen years have passed since then, and not much has changed. I'm now a counselor at the school for gifted youngsters, a place where those like us can find solace. Charles believes my abilities can provide comfort to others, a safe space for those who need it. For the longest time, I kept to myself, hiding away in my room, until the professor taught me how to safeguard my mind. I can now lightly influence others' emotions with a touch, though nothing extraordinary—I'm still working on that with Jean and Charles.

***

Nails pick at each other under my desk as I muster an awkward smile, as Bobby continues rambling. I can't believe Charles is making me do this.

"Sometimes I just can't stand John, he's such a dick and acts like hes better than every one else!" He huffs, and I try not to become frustrated on his behalf.

"Right-" I manage nodding my head. "Reminds me of how I act with my brother." I tack on a smile, but it lands stiff and unnatural.

Bobby seems excited that I can somewhat relate. "I haven't thought of it that way! You're totally right, he is like a brother, constantly nagging. I mean, he's my friend and all, but god-"