Iridescent ↳ Peter Maximoff

11 | back home

CHAPTER ELEVEN
BACK HOME

-

HER HEAD WAS tingling when she awoke. Her vision was blurry, unfocused, white. A ceiling, it must be. She could not feel anything, besides the dull ache of her head.

"Good morning," a gentle voice from beside her brings her to complete consciousness, and she turns her head. Charles smiles at her softly. She blinks a few times, only now realizing how dry her eyes and mouth feel.

"How long have I been asleep for?" She croaks out, wondering what day it is and how everyone else is doing, after what happened back in Cairo. Peter had a broken leg, she remembered, and Raven wasn't doing too well, either.

"Just a day," he answers, keeping his voice low and soft. "I was worried."

"We're... in the school," Brianna notices, furrowing her eyebrows and ignoring his comment. The last time she saw the school, it was a pile of rubble, turned that way by an explosion. But, she is making no mistake, they are definitely back. "How— how are we in the school?"

"Erik and Jean did most of the repair work," Charles explains, not missing the way Brianna tenses up at the mention of the red haired girl.

"Right," she murmurs. "Jean." Charles glances at her sympathetically for a moment, before furrowing his eyebrows.

"Brianna, why didn't you ever tell me you were jealous of her?" Again, she tenses up, just for a second, but Charles still notices it. She frowns, feigning innocence that her father can see right through.

"What?" She says. "I'm- I'm not—"

"Brianna," Charles says, giving her a pointed look. She sighs, giving up. Nothing gets past him, so what's the point in trying to hide it any longer? The cat is out of the bag, so to speak. She suddenly becomes occupied with her hands, fiddling with her cold fingers and sighing softly. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asks agin.

"Because it was selfish," she answers honestly, still playing with her fingers. "It was stupid and selfish and ridiculous. She was just another student you were trying to help, but I took it the wrong way. I felt like you were replacing me." She pauses, releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding. Then, she lifts her gaze to Charles. "I'm sorry."

She tries her hardest to keep the tears at bay... why was she starting to cry in the first place? Everything is going to be okay now.

Charles smiles softly, eyes tinkling. "You don't have to apologize for how you feel. Especially not to me." She shrugs, resting her hand against the cool white bed sheets.

The door squeaks open a crack, and Brianna glances towards it as Hank pokes his head in. "It's almost time," he states. Unanswered questions form in Brianna's mind.

Charles nods once firmly, so Hank disappears and the door shuts again with a click. Bree looks to her father, expecting answers.

"Brianna, training starts today," he starts, "Hank designed suits for each student based on their mutation, to suit them for fighting. He made one for you too, it's in your room... I wasn't sure if you would want to start today, considering your state."

Brianna raises her eyebrows. "I feel fine. In fact, I'm going to go change right now." With that, she gets up out of bed, stretching her limbs as she walks to the door, opening it with a click and exiting the room.

She turns right, heading for her room, feeling ecstatic to be back home.

"Hey."