Chapter Six

The courtyard was becoming like my second room. And my only escape from everyone in the mansion. John followed me everywhere I went (and pretended that he wasn't doing it on purpose), Bobby and Rogue bugged me about talking to John which was pretty stupid since they hardly talked to him themselves, and Warren even told me to a few times but he knew better not to bug me too much about it. Even though I did let John sleep in my bed with me that one time, I still wasn't ready to talk to him. And yes, I was being a stupid stubborn brat. But I didn't really care; I had the right to be mad.

"Stop moving," I told Warren as I sat on the grass and he stood in front of me with his shirt off. Oh yes, it was a glorious site (I had to keep myself from drooling) but I was drawing him mostly because of his wings (okay maybe his muscles too. I'm a girl, okay?). They were beautiful and I've never seen anything like them. I was afraid to even touch his wings like they were fucking sacred and I would be cursed if I laid one finger on the white feathers.

"I have an itch," Warren whined.

"Well too bad." He groaned. I threw my sketchbook and pencils next to me and pulled myself up.

"Where's your itch?" I asked.

"My neck," he said trying his best not to move. I rolled my eyes. I couldn't believe I was going to scratch Warren. But I didn't want him ruining my picture so I had to do it.

"Right here?" I said as put my hand on the right side of his neck.

"Other side." I switched hands and starting scratching Warren's neck. He made this weird sound of relief and I rolled my eyes. He was like a fucking dog. All he needed was his tongue hanging out and start kicking his leg.

"Is that better?"

"A little higher." My eyes rolled again and I raised my hand and continued scratching.

"How about now?"

"Okay, I'm good." I dropped my hand while shaking my head and going back to my spot on the grass. I studied Warren's wings. It was going to take me a long time to draw them so I decided to quickly outline them so he could sit down in front of me while I added value and all that other shit my art teacher back in Canada taught me and then complained because I took too long. She complained about how I worked too slow and didn't "plan out" my masterpieces. I was probably the slowest person in the whole class but I didn't mind, my drawings came out better than everyone else's. I'm not trying to brag. But at Mutant High, I wasn't the freaky art girl anymore. Well, maybe I still was but I wasn't the only artist. Pete was pretty good drawer too. I snickered when I remembered the drawing he did of Bobby and Rogue kissing. Bobby didn't have to worry about getting his life sucked out of him anymore. Shudder, again. Why did I keep going back to that? I spent too much time with John before he left.. that dirty boy.

"What's so funny?" Warren asked. I shook my head while I focused on the paper in my lap. We sat in silence for a few minutes until Warren began complaining about how hungry he was. Since it was getting dark anyway, I decided to call it a day and head back inside. And being the nice person I am (sometimes), I sat with Warren in the kitchen while he ate Bobby's leftovers which I had told him were mine. I said I was nice sometimes.

"Bon jour," John's annoying voice said as he sat next in the chair next to mine. I rolled my eyes as I took a sip from my water bottle and ignored his stare. I knew he was waiting for me to respond, "Aw, come on Zephyr, you used to speak French all the time. It was real cute." I shook my head. I only spoke French so no one wouldn't know what I was saying when I couldn't control my mouth.

"You speak French?" Warren asked. I shrugged.

"French was her first language, Bird Boy," John informed him. I smirked a little but it faded quickly. That's what I called Warren the day I met him. Warren ignored his comment and continued talking to me.

"Say something, Rumer."

"Yeah Rumer, say something." I slowly turned my gaze to John, glaring at him with my hazel eyes. He was making fun of Warren. Normally I would have joined in but nope, not with Warren. Warren kept me sane. He was my new best friend. Yup, I said it; he was my new best friend.

"Mange merde," I spat in John's face. He smirked as I told him to eat shit. I had taught him all the cuss words in French which was a mistake because 1. He knew what I was saying and 2. He could easily insult me back.

"Pute." It was my turn to smirk. As if calling me a whore would hurt me? But I was a little confused to why he was calling me that. I was a good girl despite all my past. I changed, unlike the assface sitting next to me.

"What makes me a whore?" I asked. John laughed like I was kidding. Maybe smirking at him would give him that impression but I was being completely serious.

"Don't get me started." I rolled my eyes again while taking another sip of water. I seemed to be rolling my eyes a lot whenever he was around. He was ruining my good day that I spent outside in the warm sun with Warren.

"Please explain, John," I said, "I'm confused." I finally turned in my seat and looked at him face to face. He was amused to my confidence to face him.

"Bird Boy," he said nodding his head towards Warren, "Admit it Zephyr, you like him."

"His name isn't Bird Boy, it's Warren," I said to John, "And of course I like him, he's my friend."

"Let me rephrase that then. You're fuck buddies." What was with John? Why was he acting like a total ass? I had a feeling it was because of what happened the few days before he left. But he wrote me those letters saying how much he missed me. That reminded me...all of them were lies. Sweet wonderful lies.

"Rumer!" I heard my name being called from down the hallway before I could ask him about the letters that I planned on burning later. I closed my water bottle and placed it on the counter.

"You need to change your fucking attitude, Pyro," I snapped before I went to go see who was calling me.

It was Rogue. She seemed a little scared so I hurried up my pace as we headed towards each other down the hallway.

"What's wrong?" I asked as hurried towards me. She stopped and noticed tears on her face. I put my hands on her arms to calm her down. Before she had a chance to warn me, I felt pain all through my body, like everything was being sucked out of me. I knew it was Rogue but I couldn't let go of her; I was getting too weak. Instead, she pushed me away while I started to gasp for air and I fell backwards landing on my ass. I felt nauseous as I slowly regained my energy and panted.

"What...happened?" I said in between breaths. Rogue had her hand over her mouth.

"I-I don't know," she choked out, "I was with Bobby...and all of sudden...he was so pale..."

"Is he okay?" I asked trying to pull myself up. Rogue nodded as she crossed her arms across her chest. She was trying her best to stay clear from me. I walked past her towards Bobby's room. The first thing I noticed was that John's bed was gone but I pushed that thought away as I walked over to my friend who was sitting on his bed staring at the wall.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I sat next to him on his bed. He looked a little exhausted but he still nodded.

"I never liked the idea about her getting the cure," he said to me, "but when she came home, I couldn't wait to wrap my arms around her and kiss her so hard." He smiled a little, "I just didn't think that feeling I got when I did kiss her would be taken away so soon." I didn't really know what to say to make him feel better but it didn't matter since he kept on talking, "You know what I'm talking about, right?" I wanted to laugh in Bobby's face but I couldn't do it. His girlfriend just nearly sucked the life out of him. And not to mention me.

"Actually, no," I said. He seemed a little bit surprised as he glanced at me with his light blue eyes.

"Are you saying you never kissed anyone?" Then it was okay to laugh. Bobby laughed with me for a short time until we stopped and I could answer.

"Bobby, please, you're talking to Rumer LeBlanc," I said. He smiled again, "I was trying to say that I never got that feeling because I never really liked a guy. But I'd like to. It seems nice."

"It seems nice?" I laughed a little as I nodded.

"Even though you and Rogue couldn't touch, you seemed so goddamn happy together. It made me sick even though I wished that I could find someone that makes me so happy just like you do to Rogue."

"John makes you happy."

"John made me happy." Bobby nudged me and I looked up at him. He looking down at me with a smile on his face.

"I think he still does." I rolled my eyes as I stood up from Bobby's bed.

"You, my friend, are funny," I said. Bobby just shrugged as I put my hands on my hips, "Go talk to Rogue, she's totally freaking out." Bobby chuckled as he got up and headed out of his room to go calm down Rogue but not before giving me a playful push. I sat back down on Bobby's bed and ran my hand through my long hair. I winced when I ran into a knot. I was totally gross when it came to my hair. I hardly ever brushed it; only when I washed it which wasn't everyday.

Bobby was putting thoughts into my head. John didn't make me happy. He put me in the worse moods ever since we brought him back to the mansion. I should have told Storm to kick him out the minute he woke up but no, I had to beg her to give him another chance. Yeah, I begged her.

Then something hit me. If Rogue was getting her powers back that means every other mutant that got the cure was getting theirs back. And that meant Magneto was getting his back too. I immediately began thinking about John. Was he still loyal to Magneto? Was he going to leave again and reunite the Brotherhood? If he left, he would be leaving me again. Even though I wanted him to leave, deep down I wanted him to stay. I didn't want us end. We didn't even get to start.

I stood up from Bobby's bed and searched through the mansion for John's new room. No one had told me where it was since I was constantly refusing to go talk to him. I spotted the blonde haired idiot waiting for kids to run out of the elevator so he could get on. As he stepped inside, I practically ran up behind him and pushed him against the wall as the elevator doors closed behind us.

"I like it rough," John laughed. I rolled my eyes as I crossed my arms and stepping back. The white elevator started going up to the second floor. The doors started to open but I pressed the button to keep them closed.

"Is it true-"

"Is what true?" he interrupted before I could finish. I wanted to slap him.

"Is it true that the moment we met, you liked me?" John shook his head. I frowned a little. And all that time I thought he had feelings for me. It was sort of disappointing.

"I've loved you since we've met, Rumer," he said as he stepped closer to me and put his hand on my cheek. I was so shocked since he actually called me Rumer that I didn't even know he was caressing my skin. I got goose bumps on my arms and legs, "and I still do." I laughed as I smacked his hand away.

"Yeah right."

"Why do you say that? Why do you keep thinking I'm a total asshole with no feelings whatsoever?"

"Maybe because you are." John groaned as he went to the corner of the elevator and dropped to the floor. After he pulled his knees close to his chest, he rested his forehead on top of his knees and let out a sigh of frustration.

"So what, you didn't read any of my letters?"

"Yeah, I read your fucking lies." His head shot up at that.

"Lies?" I nodded. There were a few bangs on the door and some voices wondering why they weren't opening. I let go of the button and let the doors slid open. Before anyone could get on, I pushed past them and headed towards my room. I could hear John's footsteps trying to keep up with me. Once I was inside my room, I pulled out the drawer where I kept all of John's letters and started to tear them into pieces. Wind started circling around me acting like a barrier as I proceeded to rip all of the letters as tears rolled down my face. I was really good at trying to patch things up, huh?

"Zephyr!" I heard John yell at me but I ignored him as the wind grew stronger and faster. I saw him from the corner of my eye trying to come closer to me but the wind kept pushing him back against the wall. Every part of me wanted me to stop tearing up his letters but I couldn't just stop. I hadn't been able to release any of my anger. Tearing up his letters felt so goddamn good.

I ripped the last few letters in half and started to calm down. The wind slowly died down as I panted and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. I noticed the brown sleeve and I gave the hoodie a better look. It was John's. I guess I hadn't broken the habit of wearing his hoodie everyday yet. I began to wonder how long I've been wearing it since he had been home.

His hands touched my arms making me jump but he wrapped his arms around me to keep me from running away. I heard him sniffing a little and I pulled away to look at him. He was looking down at the floor. My hand touched his face and I lifted up his head. His eyes were watery. His fucking amazing blue eyes were watery and red. He was crying.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

"You don't believe a word I say."

"It's kind of hard to when you're gone for what seems like forever and come back a different person."

"But I wrote you letters, why do you think I was lying?"

"Because of everything you've done."

"I told you I was sorry." I sighed.

"You shouldn't have done them in the first place, John." He sighed while leaning his back against Rogue's bed. I sat across from him watching him playing with his new lighter thing shit. I had no clue what to call it but with just one pull on some line thing and a flame produced. I wondered what he did to his Zippo lighter. He treasured that thing. And it looked like he still did since a shark was printed on his new ignitor shit thing.

"Why did you leave?" I finally asked. He looked up at me with a frown on his face. I frowned too. I already knew what he was going to say. Why the fuck did I ask? I guess I just wanted to hear it from him.

"I was mad," he said, "Mad at everything, mad at you."

"Because I didn't say what you wanted me to?" He nodded as he still fiddled with his ignitor.

"John, what you said was completely out of nowhere," I told him while I crawled closer to him, "and not to mention shocking. And then Stryker attacked and we had to get out of there. I didn't have time to think about how I felt about you. I didn't mean to hurt you." He sighed.

"I guess I just over react things." I laughed. John stared at me while I laughed in front of his face. He managed to smile.

"I got you to smile," I said pinching his cheek, "And not one of those evil rapist smiles you've been giving me. An actual real smile."

"Okay, I get," he said shutting me up, "You got me to smile." I grinned while sitting next to him against Rogue's bed. We sat together in silence for a few minutes until John finally leaned forward and grabbed some of the pieces of the letters. He started putting them together. I got up from my spot and went through Rogue's drawer for some tape. After I found some, I sat down next to him. He placed the pieces together while I taped them. It was the beginning of us putting together our relationship/friendship/whatever the fuck it was. I just hoped it wasn't going to be so hard to patch things up. He changed a lot. Maybe even a little too much. I prayed he was still the same John I knew.

After we were done putting together the letters, John led me to his new room where we both fell asleep within seconds of getting comfortable in his bed. It was even better falling asleep next to him when I wasn't completely mad at him. I could actually look at his face without grunting in disgust.

I guess the thought of losing him again made me want to talk to him. I couldn't live with myself with him gone again and knowing that it was all my fault. I wasn't going to make that mistake again.

A/N: 1. Alright, so I didn't update when I promised I would. I had a bunch of deadlines for school and my sister decided to take her PMS out on me. But don't worry, I only got a busted lip. She has the black eye. :P Also, I kept trying to upload this chapter over the weekend but it wouldn't let me. But now it's working, obviously.

2. I'm sorry if I seemed a little bit crazy/bitchy about reviewing. Hehe. I just want to know that people are actually reading what I write. I am thankful for every one I receive.

3. I hope you enjoyed this chapter (although I really didn't :/). Please, please review! The latest I'll update will be the start of Christmas break (which is the 15th of I think?). School has been getting the best of me and I have to finish my college applications.

4. I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving (for those who live in the US). Although I don't eat meat, I still enjoy the holiday. :) I love mashed potatoes.

5. I'm writing a story for FictionPress so keep a look out for that. The link to my FP account is on my homepage (which is in my profile).

Thanks to M.J.L.S, Revenge-Is-Sweeter, Takerslady, TheHollister, Ratdogtwo, brokenwriter, truXamericanXidiot08, AGirlBrushedRed, st.elmo-lover, OrangeNeko16

Takerslady - True, John is a terrorist but I don't think my story can really go anywhere with him locked up in the lower level. And I don't think Storm would do actually do that (but that's just my opinion). Also I've read a few stories with him welcome to go where he pleases.

TheHollister - Bummer, I'm only subscribed to here (e-mail alerts count, right?) and a few message boards. I had tons of fun California. I missed my best friend and cousins. Thank you for reviewing.

Brokenwriter - I think I've put your name in the thanks line before. I'm glad my story brightens up your day though.

AGirlBrushedRed - Did you get your username from Underoath's "A Boy Brushed Red"? Thanks for the review!