"You're balding." I notice, glancing up at Charles's thinning hair. He sighs, "Not all of us can stay young forever."
"Are there?" I inquire.
"Are there what?" Charles asks, twisting to look directly at me instead if looking at me sideways.
"Are there mutants who don't age? Like vampires or something?" I get a little bit eager. Charles laughs. "Probably, there are, I know of nine myself. But there is one man, he ages much more slowly than anyone else I know." Charles says almost thoughtfully. "What's his name?" My curiosity shines and Charles chuckles softly. "Logan, you will meet him at the institute."
Dawn was leaking into the sky when Hank, who was silent all the way, pulled up to a large gate with a oval-shaped sign on it, engraved with letters. I couldn't make out what it said, it was yet too dark out, I also made no attempt. The driveway leads to an old mansion with a fountain up front. "Hank, I want you to find Samantha a room, she's tired to the bone. Let her sleep and ask questions in the morning." Charles says in a commanding tone, as if Hank is a butler rather than a friend. "Mhm." Hank replies, sounding as tired as I felt.
Inside, I was lead down hallways that forked, bended, and had so many doors on each side, that I thought the mansion was infinitive. Finally, Hank came to a stop and opened a creaky wooden door - they were all wood - and lazily waved an arm inside. "I made the bed the morning, in case you're one of those people who like cleanliness." He says. I look around to find the room spotless and organized, though I was impressed, I would've been fine with a blanket, a couch and a pillow. "Thanks. Although I could've slept in a tornado wreckage right now." I say with a little laugh as I step inside. "And Hank?" I turn around before he leaves and reach up to hug him. "Thanks. Thank you, and Charles, for letting me stay in your school and all." Letting go, I close the door behind me softly, and wait for Hank's footsteps to disappear down the hallways before I clamber carefully under the thick covers, trying not to rumple it too badly. I'll make sure it's perfect again in the morning, I think to myself, my last thought before being pulled down into sleep.
"Hey," someone hisses into my ear, "hey wake up." They whisper. Whoever he or she is, is close. I groan loudly and blink open my eyes. A head only inches from mine nearly scares me to death, and impulsively, I punch. The person - a boy who looks only a little older than me - cries out and falls to the ground. "Oh my god I'm sorry. So sorry!" I apologize, helping the boy to sit onto the bed, of which I jumped out of in surprise after the blow. "Here," I say more calmly, "let me." I brush your fingers to the left of the boys face where I hit him. Feeling the heat of the pain draining from his face, into my fingers and all the way up my arm to my head. This is yet another one of my powers. It hurts a lot. "Damn, I do hit hard." I say, shaking off the lingering headache as I heal myself. "Yeah." The boy grumbles, I realize he's looking at me funny. I wonder why until I notice I'm still touching his face. I take it back quickly, feeling as if I've betrayed Peter. Peter. Oh, man, I think to myself, I want him to be here. "Sorry. Why are you here? Who are you?" I ask. The boy sticks out his hand. "The professor sent me. I'm Erin, but call me Glitch if you like." Erin says with a cocky grin. "I'll stick to 'Erin'." I tell him flatly. His grin fades and he gets up. "Let's to then." He says, not waiting for me as I get up to follow him.
"I take it we're going to Charles's office?" I ask, keeping up easily with Erin. "Who? Oh, you mean professor X, yeah." He replies.
That's the only conversation we have until we reach the double doors supposedly leading to Charles's study. I push them open without knocking. "Samantha, have you ever been taught to knock before entering?" Charles asks, not looking up. "Not really. Considering I've been living without parents for most of my life." I shrug, helping myself to a chair, earning me a paranoid look from Charles. But he's not looking at me, rather than behind me. Turning around, I find Erin still leaning against the doorframe. "You may go now Erin, I'm sure you have a class to attend." Charles says, Erin leaves. "You wanted to see me." I say. "But was it necessary to scare me to death?" I add with a small smile. "That wasn't me." Charles replies coolly. "Fair enough." I shrug, looking at the mess on Charles's bureau. "Feel free to clean up my rubbish if you have a problem." Charles says, glancing at my leg, which is bouncing up and down a little. "Sorry, just a nervous habit." I say, stopping. "Thank you." Charles says. "Now, I wanted to talk to you about Peter."
"What about him?" I ask nervously.
"We sent out Logan with a specially made device. It allows you two to have cellular contact without your... Fans being able to track you, even if they get a hold of the device."
"Fans." I chortle. "And you sent Logan because he knows Peter?"
"Yes. In fact, he should call any minute now to your phone." Charles smiles. At that moment my phone vibrates from within my pocket. I pick up without looking. "Hey." Comes an eager voice. Peter. "Hello?" He says again, I realize I never said so much as a "hi". "Peter. Oh my god. I'm so sorry." I say, leaving the room and sitting down against the wall in the hallway. "I- I thought I'd never hear you again. I thought..." I broke down with tears. "Sam? Sammy calm down. Where are you, Logan says he can take me to wherever you are if it's okay with Charles. Sam I miss you." Peter says shakily. I take a deep breath, gripping my cell tighter. "Yeah. Peter I miss you too. I thought I was gonna die." I rasp. "No. No, no, no, no, no. Sam, you're tougher than bricks, there was no way you would've died." Peter says. I choke up with more tears. "Peter..." I whisper, rubbing away tears. "Hello?" A deeper voice comes through the phone. "What? Who are you, where's Peter?" I ask in a sudden flood of panic. "Whoa, calm down, he's still here. I'm Logan. I need to speak to the professor." The deeper voice says. I nod, even though he can't see that. "Yeah," I say after swallowing, "yeah, I'll get him." I go back into the office and hand the phone to Charles. "It's Logan, says he wants to talk to you." I explain. Charles takes my cell and waves me away for privacy. The nerve, I roll your eyes at myself and leave again. Slumping against the wall, I listen, hearing Charles's muffled voice and footsteps. Erin's standing against the opposite wall, looking at me. "Boyfriend issues?" He asks. "No, just jackass problems. You'd help a lot by leaving." I reply. Erin scoffs, but doesn't leave. "I bet you I'd probably be a better boyfriend than whoever he is." He says. "Better at being narcissistic? Totally." I say, pressing my ear to the wall. "A wolf?" Erin remarks. I snarl at him, bearing my teeth. "Feisty." He's smirking at me. "Erin." Charles warns, appearing in the open door. "Sorry sir." Erin mumbles and walks off quickly. "What's his deal?" I ask. "The boy's got an eye for girls, can't seem to quit." Charles shrugs, giving me my phone back. "They'll be here tomorrow at noon, for now, I want you to meet a few people." Noon, I think excitedly.
Charles had me meet Storm, Jean, and Scott. I ended up running into three other mutants who looked like copies of Erin. Jake, Elissa, and Giani, Jake looked like a younger version of Erin, he was 13-and a lot nicer. Elissa and Giani were exact twins and looked like girl versions of Erin, but, like Jake, they were nicer. Itch-Jake, Stitch-Elissa, and Twitch-Giani.
