Runaways: Book II

XVIII

My fingers awkwardly adjusted into different shapes, unfamiliarly trying to memorize the different forms. I rhythmically swayed my hand to draw a shallow u in the air.
Music.
I was stopped abruptly in the middle of a motion by Peter's sudden appearance in the room.
His eyes were wide with concern. He had a frantic energy about him.
I shut Sign Language:The Basics with a swift slam.
"Peter, what's wrong?"
"You...you have to see this."
He quickly grabbed my hand and practically dragged me down the hall, my heels scuffing against the polished tile. I stumbled along, utterly unable to keep up with his speed.
"Peter! I don't move as fast as you, slow down!"
He impatiently lifted me off the ground without warning and flashed into one of the common rooms, where a television set was blaring a news broadcast.
He set me down, and I stood for a moment to recollect my senses.
Then I saw it.
In today's breaking news: mutants cause chaos at yesterday's Paris Peace Accords. A total of three mutants counted were engaging in physical conflict in the middle of the street among terrified civilians.
My heart crashed into the bottom of my stomach.
The Peace Accords. Hank.
And sure enough there he was, in the center of crowds of people. He was full beast, which surprised me since he was still injecting the mutant suppressant.
Something must have really set him off.
He was holding Magneto by the throat, pushing him down beneath the water of a fountain. I was honestly scared in that very moment. I had never seen Hank so aggressive, but when I saw Raven not too far away I knew it must have been something to do with her.
She was limping, hurt by a bullet wound in her leg and leaving a straggling trail of red on the pavement behind her.
And suddenly there was a screech of metal, and the sculpture in the fountain bent around Hank, twisting and coiling around his limbs, disabling him.
"Holy shit," Peter released underneath his breath as he watched.
I scrambled to my feet and unhooked the nearest telephone,
"I gotta call Hank."
My fingers danced along the number pads in a quick melody of notes and was followed by a few dronings of ringing.
"Hello?"
"Hank! Are you okay? What the hell happened?"
"What did you see? Was it on the news?" he questioned as if he was preparing to bare some pain.
"It's everywhere. And Magneto? I thought he was helping you stop Raven."
"Well, his idea of 'stopping' her was way different from ours. He tried to kill her."
"Is everyone else okay?"
"We're fine. We should be there by this evening; we're flying back now."
I took a moment to catch my breath, steadying myself as I peered into Peter's eyes. Even past his worry there was always a look of stability, of this sort of calm collected peace that I couldn't live without.
"Hank. Are you sure you're alright?" I asked.
He breathed in a bit. "I'll be alright when we find Raven again."
"We'll figure this out, just get back safe."
"Yeah. I'll see you in a little bit. Bye ___."
"See ya, Hank."
I clamped the phone back onto its holder and braced my teeth subconsciously onto my bottom lip.
Peter put his hand on my shoulder, directly transferring his energy past my skin.
"What is it?" he inquired.
"It's just...the way the people were watching them. They think we're freaks."
Without much warning he pulled me closer to him, enveloping me into his atmosphere. My cheek rested against his chest in a way that was all too familiar. I heard his heartbeat.
"It's nothing we're not used to by now. And we know the truth. I know the truth. They're just scared because they can't understand how awesome we are."
"Peter, you're more than just awesome," I told him laughing a bit. But my face fell serious as I continued, "you're extraordinary."
He stared at me for a moment, and all I could sense was the same emotion as that night at the motel room, the only emotion that ever consumed Peter ever since I had returned. The same emotion that had been consuming me since I returned.
A part of me wanted to kiss him right there and just return back to the very beginning.
But then I thought about running away. I lost the courage.
So I just stood there, peering back into his brown eyes until god knows when.