time eternal.

seven.

. chapter seven

The ride back to the jet was long, and August couldn't wait until she was finally out of the full car. She also found that she was the only female, much to her dismay considering that there was now three men and a teenager surrounding her.

No one talked except the usual banter that Peter liked to keep up. The kid never liked it quiet, August could tell. He was practically jumping in his seat, but he was sat next to Hank, so no one told him to try and sit still.

When they arrived at the landing strip, everyone immediately jumped out of the car, excited for a fresh breeze and open space. Hank made a beeline towards the jet, not caring to say goodbye to the silver-haired kleptomaniac. Logan gave a jerk of the chin, entering the jet with a cigar hanging from his lips.

"Peter, thank you, very, very much," Charles said, smiling at the young man.

Erik stepped up, holding out his hand for a quick shake, "you take care."

"Hey," Peter said, "I saw your flight plan in the cockpit. Why're you going Paris?" Peter's eyes shifted from August to Charles, eyebrows raised.

"Just a little trip," August assured, not wanting to trouble the teen with their own problems.

"Right," Peter smirked.

"Well," Charles sighed, "we really must be going. Thank you again, Peter."

August stepped forth, pulling Peter into a bone-crushing hug. Peter shoved his face into her shoulder, returning the hug almost instantly.

"You be careful, okay?" August muttered, retracting from the embrace.

"Of course," Peter grinned. August smiled, walking up to the steps of the jet with Charles.

August turned as Charles threw the car keys towards Peter, watching as a small smirk made its way onto the teen's face.

"Do me a favor and return it for me?" Charles asked. August beamed down at him.

"Okay," Peter said.

August began to climb the steps, but was stopped once again by Charles.

"And Peter?" he called. "Take it slow." Peter laughed, watching as the two ascended the stairs and disappeared into the jet.

Once on the jet, everyone found their own respective places to sit. It was quiet, with the exception of the loud roar coming from the jet's engine as it took off. There was the occasional click coming from the cockpit, caused by Hank when flicking buttons. August sat across the aisle from Charles, skimming through a novel by an old author that she's always enjoyed. Although August found it hard to complete a single sentence due to the extreme amount of tension. Looking around, she spotted Logan smoking a cigar in the corner, and Charles and Erik staring each other down, neither of them saying a word.

August sighed, though she figured it must be hard for the both of them to see each other. August wasn't sure what happened between the two, but it must have been bad considering the look on Charles' face was certainly not a happy one. August wasn't the only hopeless one. Everyone on the plane was hopeless, aside from Hank, but August couldn't really distinguish what was wrong with him. Erik had his bad tendencies, with killing Kennedy. Logan was from the future, which August witnessed to be falling apart by the second. Charles, however, seemed to be the most broken one out of the group. He had dark circles surrounding his eyes, which always seemed to be a watered blue. His hair was greasy and shoulder-length, and he was unshaven for who-knows how long. He was a man tumbling down a hill after being pushed by a friend.

"How'd you lose them?" Erik finally said after minutes of staring, also breaking August's concentration.

"The treatment for my spine affects my DNA," Charles replied bitterly.