𝕄𝕌𝕋𝔸𝕋𝕀𝕊 𝕄𝕌𝕋𝔸ℕ𝔻𝕀𝕊 ～ 𝘟-𝘔𝘦𝘯

10 - 18/12/1968, WED

"Lillian."

"Hmm..."

"LILLIAN!"

She jumps with startle, eyes darting around after being pulled out of her thoughts. Everyone is staring at her with confusion. She looks at Professor Xavier at the front of the class, with a tilted head and looked at her with the slightest concern.

"Lillian, are you alright?" He asks while wheeling closer to her. She stares at him with puzzlement and whispers, "I'm fine Char-Professor."

"N-No you're... you were mumbling something," He responds, "Are you sure you're alright?"

She looks at him with fright and dread in her eyes then-

Lillian grabs her forehead forcefully, pushing herself out of the seat quickly. The throbbing migraine is about to drive her insane.

She bangs on the class door and they swing open. She runs out, with the Professor following her behind.

"Read chapters ten to twelve, highlight at least five key points in each," He instructs and glances around the corridors outside the room, "Lawrence where did Lillian go?"

The young boy points to the left hallway and the Professor gulps. Wheeling his chair down the corridor, he reaches a dead end where he stops at the washrooms. He moves back a bit and sighs.

A girl walks out, tying her hair into a messy bun. "Nancy, is Lillian in there?" He questions in a hurry, who nods her head.

"I think she's sick. She threw up I guess," she responds, "No one else is in there." Nancy opens the door for the Professor and he enters the shared bathroom.

"L-Lily? Are you alright?" He asks with caution, not wanting to startle her. He stops suddenly when he hears the toilet flush, followed by the door swinging open of the cubicle in the middle.

Lillian drags herself out with shoulders slumped and a tired expression on her face. She leans down to the sink and starts washing her face with cold water, unaffected by the Professor's presence in the bathroom.

"Lillian, talk to me, please," He requests with a soft tone while Lily wipes her hands with a paper towel then leans back on the wall and slowly slides herself down till she pulls her knees close to her chest.

She grabs her head and shuts her eyes, taking deep breaths to steady her racing heart.

"I-I-I... Will y-you protect us?" She asks hoarsely, tears forming in her eyes. The Professor nods his head quickly and furrows his eyes with worry, "Of course sweetheart, I will protect all of you."

"P-Promise me that you'll k-keep me safe Charles! PLEASE, they'll... hurt me!" She pleads and breaks into tears, he moves closer to her.

"Wh-Who will hurt you?"

"THEY, with the needles and the knives, poking into our skin and taking out D-DNA for their testing!"

He takes her hand and squeezes it, making her look up with glistening eyes. "They did that before, they won't do it now," Charles reassures, "You have nothing to-"

"N-N-No this isn't something from b-before..."

Charles eyes her with pure concern, squinting his eyes and taking a deep breath, "You... This hasn't happened to you before?"

Lillian crawls closer to him, sitting on her knees and taking his hands tightly in hers. "NO but I s-saw myself Charles! They're coming after m-me!" She bawls out and buries her face in his knees.

"Hey it will be alright Lily, I will always have my eye on you, love," He says with sympathy, making Lillian reach out to give him a hug.

Charles, a little surprised at first, returns to hug a moment later while staring at the marble floor of the bathroom with worry. "Now go rest, have something to drink. You don't have to come to class, I'll ask one of the others to lend you their notes," He explains and she nods her head.

"Has this happened to you before?" He glances to the washroom cubicle she had exited from before and she shakes her head in denial, "Oh... Um, it's probably related to being around so many mutants. You know at some minor level we are all connected."

She shrugs her shoulders and can only hope that it is as simple as that, Charles feels the same.

*****

Lillian stares at her desk with nothing in front of her, blankly. If she had the power to manipulate an object with just her looks the table in front of her would have disintegrated.

Flashes of pain and torture went through her mind, as if the peeks into the foreseeable future are reminding her to take precautions. She begins to clench her jaw then grip her hair tightly while squeezing er eyes shut.

"Miss Goodheart?"

She looks up with paranoia, lost and out of touch. "If you'd like to be excused you may do so but please let's pay attention to the board," Mr Dunn says then smiles softly, "Thank you."

To her luck or utter humiliation, Professor Xavier is seated at the back of the class while finishing off some documents. He watches her in deep thought while trying to mentally figure out what is going on with his student, or more appropriately friend.

After another pain-staking ten minutes, class is dismissed and Lillian hurries to the door to only be stopped by-

"Lily, may I have a word with you?" The Professor requests and Lillian bites her lip and sighs softly. She smiles forcefully then walks over to the front desk. She takes a seat opposite Charles and hugs her books.

"Don't keep anything from me, I beg you," He insists and she looks to her hands, "Talk to me Lily, please tell me what's going on in your mind-"

"I'm scared Charles, I'm terrified that something will happen and there would be no stopping of it alright?!" She bursts out, "I just... I've never felt like this before and I can't ignore it. It's growing inside."

Charles swallows hard, unable to fathom the words she stated at the moment through her emotions of alarm and panic. "Look, I will help you with everything Lily. Don't let this... fear stop you from living contently," He explains and gives her a smile full of sympathy.

"Thanks..." She mumbles then glances to the door behind her, "Can I leave now?" Charles nods his head then stares at Lillian, as she walks away, intently while using his mental powers to peek into her mind.

She looks back quickly, as if she knows that he's spying on her, making Charles feel conscious. He quickly smiles at her and gives her a wave, before she walks out of the room and leaves the door to slowly shut.

Charles shuts his eyes and searches for Lillian, whom he can tell is walking towards the kitchen.

'Charles is sweet, but you don't want him in trouble...'

'I have to stop this, it's getting too much.'

'Why don't I just take his help? He cares about me more than anyone else has..."

'Where's the soda?'

Charles opens his eyes and sighs, disconnecting from Lillian's mind. Gears turn in his head, he wants to help her but she needs to let him first.

"I'll make sure I help her control her powers, I have to," He mutters then looks out of the window at a group of children playing tag near a group of trees.

He smiles softly, wishing that he could step outside and join them. He shakes his head to bring him back to reality, and wheels over to the door after grabbing his things.