The Protectors (As Told By Atlas Rand)

A Flash of the Past

***
   I sigh as I walk outside, ready for my morning jog. Turning onto the sidewalk as the sun just starts to rise and the lamppost lights start to fade out, I start up my music and start to jog to the steady beat of The Vengeful One. After a few songs fly past, I suddenly feel a huuugggeeeee gust of wind whip by me.
   "What in the name of-" I start, but before I can finish, the blur stops, and a girl is in the middle of the sidewalk.
   The girl looked to be about 16 years of age and had a silvery-blue jacket on over a printed t-shirt. Her shoulder-length hair was the same silvery-blue shade. Goggles of yet the same color sat atop her head, positioned in a way she could pull them down at any point she wanted to. She had simple blue jeans on and shoes meant for running. Her wild blue eyes were a contrast against her pale-ish skin. All these features I knew all too well.
   "Atlas! It's been, what, a year now?" she said in that joking voice I always remembered.
   "C-Claire?!" I couldn't believe it. After a year, Claire Maximoff finally decides to show up. We don't know why she left, or when she'd ever come back. Well, I guess we know the answer to that. Now we see if she actually stays...
"Surprised?" Claire says, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I pause my music and take my earbuds out. "Kinda, but not really. I mean, we all knew you HAD to come back some day. If it be in 20 years, or 20 minutes. I guess we have no need to ask ourselves than anymore, well, because you're here now."
   Claire chuckled. "That's funny."
   "What is?"
   "You had hopes that I would come back. I didn't think I was liked anymore."
   "Oh, Claire... We all still liked you, well, maybe not Thomas, but I did."
   "Yeah, and who else?" She started walking past me and I turned around to follow her down the sidewalk.
   "Well-"
   "No one. No one but you wanted me to stay."
   "You didn't stay long enough to meet some of the others for them to develop their own opinion about you." By now we were at the path that leads up to the front door of the mansion. I could almost hear what Thomas would say if he saw Claire here.
   "So," I start, "are you staying?"
   "Nah, I'm just here to check in on you guys and to see what you've done with the mansion."
   Just checking in. Riight. But instead, I say, "How long will you stay, then? A few hours, a day? How long does it take you to 'check in'?"
   Claire had started walking up the path, leaving me standing there, talking after her. She turned around and looked at me. "As long as I want."
   "As long as you want? Last I checked, you were gone for a year and Thomas and I are the owners of this mansion, so we get to decide, really, how long you stay."
   Claire rolled her eyes and turned back around to continue walking up the long path to the mansion doors. "Whatever you say, Atlas."
    I walk up behind and around her, walking up to the mansion's doors that have been replaced so many times. "Try not to make anyone upset, ok?" I say before opening the door.
   Rolling her eyes again and sighing, Claire responds, "Yeah yeah, fine."
   Walking into the mansion, I wait for Claire to come in behind me so I can shut the door behind her. Looking into the living room, I see Thomas sitting on a couch, reading some book he got a few days ago. Something like "Longing Legacies" or whatever. Claire boldly walks over there and stands in front of him. He looks up from his book, and that is when I knew I done messed up. As Thomas stared Claire down, and Claire stared Thomas down, the tension between them was so thick I could probably reach my hand out and pluck it like a guitar string. I could almost taste the hate beating from their eyes into each other's souls. Even in this hate filled moment, the lyrics from Who Taught You How To Hate ran across in my mind. Thanks brain. Just, thanks.
   After what seemed like an hour passed, Claire was the first to speak. "Hello, Thomas." She said his name with so much hate I cringed.
   "Claire," he responded. It felt like he was about to go all stabby-stabby on Claire very soon. I moved to stand between them as Thomas set his book down and stood up.
   "No killing each other. Not now, not ever," I try. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Mostly doesn't, though. Claire didn't seemed any more calm, but she relaxed a little, but still in a position to fight if needed. Thomas, his eyes still drilling holes into Claire's skull, sat back down on the couch.
Yeah.
This totally is not going well.
***

___________________
ANT:

I know, I normally conclude a story in a chapter but haha I'm trying something new.
Make y'all want to see what happens.
I'm evil.
Mwahahaha.
Oh and FYI, if anyone wants to know, I listen to various Disturbed songs while writing chapters so ya XD

Until next time...
*disappears in a puff of smoke*