One-shots/Short Stories

Charles Xavier - Part II

His Inspiration - Part II
Charles followed her to university, amazed at how fast and not tired-looking she was from all the running. They did run a couple of miles.
   "Wait!" Charles called out, leaning his hands on his knees. The woman stopped, turning around to see a puffed out Charles.
   "Oh my!" she quickly rushed to him, grabbing out a water bottle from her messenger bag. "Are you alright? Do you want some of my water?"
   "That would be wonderful, my dear." Charles took the bottle from her gratefully and took a couple of sips politely. "Thank you."
   "What got you running that much?" she asked him curiously. She noticed the jumper he was wearing that held the university symbol. "Ah, late to university like me, yes?"
   "Yeah." he chuckled. "And also because of the fact that you almost died if it wasn't for that cab to stop."
   "Oh, you saw that, huh?" she chuckled sheepishly, giving him a shy smile.
   "Well, I was in the car when it happened." Charles mused. Her eyes widened at his words.
   "You were in the taxi?" she yelped. "Oh, I am so sorry - why are you even here? You had a cab with you -"
   "I wanted to make sure you were okay." he admitted. "Besides, the taxi wasn't even going to get me at the university in time. However, running here made me not that much late." Charles glanced at his watch impressed.
   "So you ran two miles, just to ask me if I was okay?" she stared at him doubtfully. Charles shuffled in his spot, now able to stand properly from his hunched form.
   "And you may, or may not have piqued my interest." he decided to add. She smiled at his words, holding her hand out.
   "I'm Clara." she said. "Clara Oswin."
   "Well, Miss Oswin. . ." Charles grabbed her hand and instead of shaking it, he placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles. "It is nice to make your acquaintance. I am Charles Xavier." He reluctantly pulled away from her and gave her a small smile. "As much as I would love to stay and chat, I believe we have important exams to go to."
   "Oh, yes!" she realised, preparing to make a run inside the university. "So I guess I'll see you soon, yes?"
   "Of course." Charles smiled. "I'll see you soon, Miss Oswin."
   "Clara, please." she smiled. "Call me Clara."
   "Very well then, Clara." Charles grinned.

***

"Using my telepathic abilities, I found her at university at the end of the day." Charles explained to them, running a hand through his hair absently. "We gone out for some tea, and then I walked her home."
   "Is she a mutant like us?" a boy asked him. Charles shook his head with a smile.
   "I'm afraid not." he said. "She was as normal as anyone could be. Happy, not a care in the world. . ."
   "So when did you tell her about you being a mutant?" Amelia asked him.
   "She actually found out about that when we went and had tea, actually." Charles revealed. "She was very smart. When I told her about my thesis about mutation, she asked me if I was one of them. Extraordinary at how fast she connected the dots. I was also amazed that she actually paid attention to me when I talked about my thesis. Usually they zone out or fall asleep." Chuckles went around the room.
   "So what happened after that?" Stephen asked him. "She finds out, you walk her home. . .do you guys get together? She talked about creating a school for us?"
   "Let me finish, Stephen." Charles said with a small smile.

***

Days, weeks, months - a year went by, and Charles and Clara were inseparable. Anywhere you see Charles, there will be Clara. Or anywhere in university you see Clara, Charles would be there at her side, charming her with his intellect and looks.
   They did eventually get together, and Clara got to meet Raven (whom Charles mentioned a lot to her), and Raven absolutely adored her, and was also glad to hang out with a girl who knew about mutants and did not fear them. Everything was perfect.

But not for long.

Charles walked to the door of Clara's flat with a happy whistle tune, and knocked on the door. Instead of Clara opening it with one of her bright smiles and greeting him with a kiss, it was her flatmate, Sarah. "Ah, hello Sarah." Charles said politely. "Is Clara almost ready?"
   "Um. . .hey, Charles. . ." Sarah said awkwardly. "Clara. . .isn't exactly. . .here."
   "Oh, she went to university already?" Charles realised. Sarah shook her head. He frowned at her answer. "Well um. . ." he chuckled nervously, ". . .w-where is she?"
   "She's at the hospital."

***

"I remember running into the hospital, demanding to see if Clara was in a room or anything." Charles murmured. "They told me the room, and I was there immediately."
   "What happened?" Hank asked him; Raven, Alex and himself moving into the room further and sitting on one of the spare chairs, wanting to hear more of the story. "Why was she in the hospital?"
   "Her face. . ." Charles whispered sadly, a tear escaping. "I still remember it; her eyes were dull, her face sunken. . .she just wasn't the usual bright person I met on that first day."
   "Charles. . ." Raven moved to his side and kneeled down, taking his hand in hers. He gripped it tightly, closing his eyes in an attempt to get rid of the tears and allow himself to calm down.
   "She. . .she was dying." Charles finally told them. "Cancer. It was too late when we found out. She only had six months to live."

***

"What?" Charles whispered, his lips trembling in an attempt to hold his tears in. Clara stared at him sadly, her tears already falling down her cheeks. Charles lifted his hand and wiped them away. "Please tell me you are joking." he almost begged. "Please."
   "I'm sorry." she whispered. "It's true. Look into my mind for yourself." Charles went into her mind and witnessed the whole conversation she had with the doctors. "Six months." Clara said sadly. "I only have six months left."
   "C-can't they do anything?" Charles asked them. "I-it can't be too late -"
   "Charles -"
   "We can figure something out - maybe there's a mutant here that can save us -"
   "Charles -"
   "You can't leave me!" he exclaimed, slamming his hands on the bed. Clara jumped at his sudden anger. "Y-you can't. . ." he whispered sadly, his voice cracking at the end.
   "I'm sorry." Clara said, pulling him into a hug. Charles hugged her back tightly, crying into her shoulder. "We'll get through this, okay? We'll get through this." she promised him.
***
Clara was able to go back home, but she had to take it easy. Charles was by her side every moment, making sure she didn't tire herself out. Already he noticed her getting more tired than usual, and getting puffed out easily by just walking from one class to another. It concerned him greatly.
   It wasn't until the fourth month, did she have to go to the hospital. They were hanging out at Charles and Raven's flat, Raven wanting to spend some time with Clara without her identity being revealed because of her mutant powers that she still didn't get the hang of. Raven was glad to stay at home in her normal form in front of Clara.
   The three were in the living room, talking and having fun; something that didn't happen much ever since the news about Clara's condition was revealed.
   Clara noticed that they needed more drinks and grabbed their empty cups. "Darling, what are you doing?" Charles asked her worried. "Don't stress yourself much, remember?"
   "I'm only refilling our drinks, Charles." Clara rolled her eyes playfully. "I'll be back soon."
   A minute or two passed, when suddenly Raven and Charles heard glass breaking and the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. "Clara!" Charles realised. In a blink of an eye, he was gone from his seat and was making his way into the kitchen, Raven following close. What they saw scared them - especially Charles.
   Clara was on the ground unconscious, a broken cup beside her, some of the glass breaking her skin on her arm. "CLARA!" Charles screamed. He turned to Raven. "Quick! Call the hospital!"