Flickers (Charles Xavier)

Chapter 29

Iris had grown very used to waking up in unfamiliar surroundings over the last few months, so waking up on the sofa wasn't particularly disorientating for her. She stretched out and winced – her back ached from only getting a few hours' sleep on the sofa.

She'd stayed up for a couple of hours writing in Hank's office, before making her way to the living room and crashing on the sofa. As she sat up, she frowned. She was sure she'd been too tired to grab a blanket, but now one was laid across her. She shook her head - she must have grabbed one without realising.

After a few more minutes of waking herself up, she grabbed some things from her bag and made her way to the bathroom to get washed and ready for the day. As she stood under the hot water of the shower, she couldn't help but think about last night, and the way things had been with Charles. She hadn't thought that it would be that hard to see him, but she'd been wrong. She couldn't look at his face without feeling like she'd ruined things.

But she'd been happy, before, when she was travelling and writing articles. She'd felt like it was something she was meant to do. She'd been working well on controlling her ability as well. Everything had felt right. Now she wasn't so sure.

With a sigh, she stepped out of the shower, dried off and got dressed into a clean set of clothes. As she made her way downstairs to get some breakfast, she realised she had missed the mansion. She'd missed having a base – somewhere that truly felt like home.

Iris made herself a cup of tea and some toast, and glanced at the clock. It wasn't long until classes were going to start for the day. She needed to go down to the lab to ask Hank which classes she was teaching.

As she walked down the corridor, she spotted a familiar face at the end of the hallway.

"Jessica!" She called out, and the young girl looked up and beamed.

"How are you finding things here?" Iris asked with a smile.

Jessica grinned, "It's amazing here! I love it so much, thank you for telling my family about it. And thank you for writing what you did about me in the news. My parents said it made them happy cry."

Iris squeezed the young girl's shoulder, "You're welcome. I'm glad you're happy, Jessica."

She thanked Iris again before running down the corridor after one of her friends.

Hank glanced up at her with a smile as she walked into the lab, "Morning, Iris."

Iris sat down on a spare chair and took a bite out of her toast, "Is Charles gone already with Alex?"

Hank nodded, "They left early this morning." He paused, "Hey, I'm sorry if I overstepped a line yesterday, calling you."

Iris shook her head slowly, "You did the right thing, Hank. Don't apologise."

"It's just..." Hank ran his hand over his face and groaned, "I shouldn't have left you alone with Charles, either. I didn't know what to do. I called you on an impulse, and then I didn't have the guts to tell Charles I'd done it. So when you appeared and I saw you two looking at each other I thought I should leave you to speak alone. Sorry."

"It's okay." Iris' voice was quiet, "Really. Please don't apologise, Hank."

"If you're sure..." He murmured.

"Did you see Charles this morning?" She asked carefully. Hank shrugged his shoulders.

"For a little bit. He said you looked well."

Iris nodded silently.

Hank cleared his throat and passed her a piece of paper, "I've written out what lessons you'll be teaching today. Sorry, I've kind of stolen some of your classes..."