THE FUTURE LIES WITHIN
Chapter 1: An Unwanted Visitor “Mind if I have a seat?” Logan asked startling her out of thought. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he added as he sat next to her when she nodded her head. Heidi’s morning went by slow, and at lunch as she was finishing a report on a new building about to be put up, her door opened and Anna appeared. “Did we have a lunch date?” Heidi asked shutting off her desktop computer.
After having lunch with her friend Anna at their favorite Italian restaurant, Heidi hailed a taxi and got in. Once they were on their way, she took a book she had been reading out of her briefcase and opened it up to the chapter she had just started. The book was a romance novel, and very few people knew just how much she loved reading them. These sorts of stories were among her favorite type to read, and helped her cope with the times she felt depressed over not having a man in her life.
Today the two of them had talked about when she would get married, and only with Anna, could Heidi be honest without having her friend tell her she was being silly. Being single appealed to Heidi because there were no attachments. She liked being her own boss; being able to get tickets for a flight to anywhere she wanted ago without a family holding her back, or make decisions for herself without having to consider the welfare of another person. The other part of her hesitation to marry or even to date was her Clairvoyant ability. When she was alone, her dreams didn’t really have any meaning. She occasionally had days where the events seemed familiar, but it wasn’t as disturbing as it had been in her past in the days before her parents were killed in a train derailment.
The taxi came to a stop in front of her building and after giving the driver his fare, she headed upstairs to her office. As Heidi road up the elevator she hummed softly to herself of a song she had heard that morning while she had her breakfast.
Her office was at the end of the hall and when she opened the door she was both startled and dismayed to find Max standing over her desk. “If you wanted to see those I could have had them sent to you,” she said rather annoyed by his intrusion.
Max turned around smiling at her as he did. “Well I could, but I wanted to see how you were doing,” he said. Maxamillion was a handsome man. His black hair was neatly combed and parted on the left side. He was wearing a grey Armani suit, with his jacket tucked over his left arm.
His blue eyes gazing at her made Heidi feel uncomfortable but she refused to let him see that. “I am doing very well,” she said trying to be friendly. She stayed where she was, not wanting to get any closer to him than she had too.
“Good.” He stood there for a moment before an alarm on his watch went off. “Well I have a meeting to go too. Will you send me a copy of your work when you are finished?” he asked. When she nodded her head he gave her another one of his charming smiles, and then he was gone.
Relief flooded her soul, and as Heidi sat down at her desk she suddenly felt a bit uneasy. Shaking her head, Heidi passed it off as a side affect of having to see him, and returned to her work.
The next morning at breakfast, and then at lunch when Rogue didn’t appear at either meal, Logan went to find Bobby finding the young man sulking at the stables. He had a feeling something had happened with them, and wanted to make sure they were both all right. “You are missing a good game going on out at the court,” Logan said folding his arms across his chest.
Bobby looked up at Logan as he leaned against one of the stall doors. “Basketball isn’t really my sort of game,” offered Bobby, wishing Logan would go away and leave him to his miserable thoughts. He wasn’t surprised when he asked about Rogue, and decided that if he told Logan a little about last night maybe he would go away. “She decided we didn’t need to see one another, afraid of getting close after what happened with Jean,” he said looking at the ground. “I didn’t want to be around her after that so I went back to bed.” He looked from the ground to Logan’s face expecting him to be angry but instead Bobby noticed Logan’s sad expression. “I guess I should talk to her,” he said.
“Yeah, but after me.” Logan left hoping to find her so the two of them could have a talk.
Having to go to classes the morning after she and Bobby broke up had been difficult. Rogue managed to get through them without too much trouble, and even managed to convince the professor that she would be alright with time. What she really wanted to do was to get away, but she knew that wouldn’t help solve her fears. When everyone else went to lunch, Rogue took a walk into the woods, to a small pond about a half mile from the Mansion. There she sat on a carved bench, thinking about her family, something she hadn’t done in a long time. Her parents had no idea where she was, and sometimes like now she thought about going back there.
“I was just thinking about things,” she answered keeping her eyes on the pond.
Logan waited to see if she would say anything more, and when she didn’t he began to talk. “So how have you been holding up?” he asked. He heard Rogue sigh and watched as she shook her head. “Talking sometimes helps,” he offered.
“I made a mistake letting Bobby and I get together. I told him I wanted some space and now he’s mad at me.” When Logan put his arm around her she leaned against him, careful not to let her cheek brush against his skin.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” he said, hoping she would say more, which she did.
Rogue sat up, turning to the left so she could look at him. “I’ve seen how upset Scott has been since Jean’s death, and you, and I don’t know what I would do if anything like that ever happened to Bobby, especially if it was because of me.” After she said that she cried and once again she found herself being hugged by Logan. Taking in a few deep breaths she managed to stop crying like a baby and felt embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she said, when she realized she had gotten his shirt wet with her tears.
“Don’t be. It looks like you needed that. Rogue, I can’t tell you what to do, and I won’t, but pulling away from someone you love just because you are afraid doesn’t seem like it’s making you or Bobby all that happy,” he offered.
“Then how do I stop being so afraid?” she asked. As Logan answered her she sat up to look at him.
“I think you should go find him and talk to him, but after you eat,” he said as he stood up. Rogue smiled at him and he winked at her before the two of them began their walk back to the mansion.
A little before 6pm, Heidi gathered her things, putting her laptop in her briefcase along with some papers. As she was leaving her office she heard someone calling her name and shut her eyes. Why couldn’t he get a clue? She wondered that as she turned around to once again face Max. “I don’t have a lot of time on my hands,” she said, hoping he would get the hint.
“So I guess that means you don’t want to go out to dinner with me?” he asked. Every since she had been hired on, and he had seen her, Max had constantly been asking her out, not realizing how uncomfortable she felt about dating a man from work, especially the man who owned the company.
“I have a friend coming into town,” replied Heidi.
“You could bring your friend along, I will pay for our meals,” he said offering to take Heidi’s briefcase. When she held it closer to her side Max dropped his hand. Something about this woman intrigued him and he wanted to get to know her. “I guess I’ll dine out alone then,” he finally said.
“I think that might be better, I don’t think it would be good for me to go out with you,” she said watching him to see what he would say. When he sighed, she felt a small flutter in her heart, not minding at all that he was disappointed. Maybe now he would finally get the hint.
“Have a good night Miss O’Connell.” He turned and stocked off, already dialing the number of another woman, who wasn’t as hard to get to know, on his cellular phone.
When Heidi finally arrived home it was almost 7:30pm. Heidi changed out of her skirt and dark blue silk blouse, putting on an old College T-shirt and a pair of soft worn blue jeans. After calling in an order to her favorite Chinese take out, she sat down on her sofa in front of the TV and clicked it on.
The announcer was talking about the decline in the senate to pass the Mutant Registration Act, and Heidi smiled. She had never met a mutant, but she was a strong supporter of peace between mutants and non-mutants. After the news went off, and dinner arrived, Heidi put a DVD into the player, her favorite, The Princess Bride and as she ate she couldn’t help but laugh at the antics of the Wesley on his quest to rescue Buttercup from Prince Humperdink.
Later that night as she slept, Heidi dreamed, and as she did she tossed and turned in her bed. It was dark outside, and Heidi stood flat against a tree. She didn’t know this place, but she knew she was in danger, and that someone else was also facing the same trouble. As she moved away from the tree someone grabbed her pulling her firm against their body. A man’s voice asked her who she was; then the dream was over. Heidi sat up out of breath. She shut her eyes and tried hard to stop shaking, and when she finally did she felt as though she hadn’t slept in days. It had been nearly eight years since she had experienced a dream with such intensity, and she knew without a doubt in her mind that something was about to happen. Shutting her eyes she tried desperately to call back the dream in her mind but it wasn’t any use. Flopping back against her pillows, Heidi fell back asleep and for the rest of the night her dreams were tranquil.
Teaching the Students about cars, and how they ran made Scott happy, and today when he walked into the Garage he handed all of them a pop quiz. His students groaned at having this sprung on them but quieted as he began to talk. “I just want to make sure everyone understands the names of each part of the engine on the Firebird, and how each part works,” he said as he sat down. As the students began to write down the answers, Scott thought about the times he and Jean had gone out driving in the red beauty. He remembered the last time they had taken it for a drive. It was after a disagreement, and when he got them lost on the back roads a few hours away, she didn’t seem to mind too much. Scott smiled as he thought of how they made up. He sighed then, wishing he had just one more day to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her.
Movement in the far corner of the garage caught his attention and he wasn’t surprised to see Logan eyeing his cycle. Scott watched as Logan took it out of its parking spot and walked it out of the garage, not really caring that he was taking it once again without asking. Scott wasn’t all that happy that Logan never asked to take it out for a spin but since Jean’s death, he tried to avoid any confrontations with the man.
Once again, Rogue was sitting out by the pond. This time her thoughts were interrupted by Bobby, and when he sat down next to her she leaned against his arm padded by the sleeve of the black leather jacket he wore.
“I’m sorry I took off like that,” he offered as he leaned a bit away from her so that he could put his arm around her.
“I’m sorry I tried to put an end to us,” she responded. “I am just afraid. What if something happens to you because of me? I know you think that we can handle things but I don’t know how to control my abilities,” she said. When he turned her so that she could see him, and Rogue saw that warm glow in his eye she melted. They kissed briefly before she pulled away looking at him for any signs that she had taken any of his life force.
“Was that so bad?” he asked taking her gloved hand in his. He rubbed his cheek against it before she turned to face the pond, once again letting him hold her close. Logan had been right, running away from Bobby wasn’t what they needed, and Rogue hoped that someday she would be able to thank him for his support of her.
Back in the City, Heidi found a dozen roses as well as a note on her desk; the note read “From your admirer.” Putting the roses down beside the trash can, Heidi felt her stomach churn. She didn’t understand why Max was persisting so, and had a feeling that he wasn’t going to give up until she gave in, something she would never do. Heidi knew she could quit this job and get another, but she also knew that few jobs paid so well during the first year, so she would stay for the time being.
“No, but I though I would surprise you, and try to talk you into taking the rest of the day off.
Heidi offered her friend a smile. “I’m ahead of schedule as usual, so I think I may just do that.” Just outside her office, and down the hall Heidi gave a manila folder to one of the Secretaries. “Tell the committee that we will be meeting tomorrow at 10am, in meeting room B.” Heidi said before she and Anna made a fast get away to the Elevators.
At lunch Anna told her that she and Paul were getting a divorce, something that really surprised Heidi. “But why? The two of you were so happy I thought.”
“An act,” Anna admitted. “I’ve wanted to start a family for a while now, and we have been fighting about that for almost a year. Yesterday when I went to surprise him for lunch I found him in his office with a woman he met over the internet,” Anna said as she blotted her tears with a napkin.
“Let’s get out of here and go see a movie, your pick,” Heidi said as she paid for their lunch. Anna smiled, and after leaving the Café they headed for the theater.
After spending all day watching movies with her friend, Heidi arrived home feeling sad for her friend, but more convinced now that staying single was for the better. If a Marriage that had been strong for ten years could just fall apart in the matter of one year, what did that say about being together? Heidi sat down in her easy chair and shut her eyes, thinking back to her dream. Even though her day had been enjoyable, she was still trying to figure out what that meant, and when it would actually happen.
In his office, the Professor finished his class and as the last student filed out he shut his eyes. Jean wasn’t gone as the rest of his family thought, but at the same time she wasn’t able to come back to them. She was undergoing a transformation, into someone with great powers, and for the past few weeks, he had been trying to reach her through his telepathy and through Cerebro. Jean wasn’t ready to come home to them, but he hoped that soon the time would come for that, knowing that as long as she was gone the void in their family would remain.
Charles opened his eyes a moment before the students of his next physics class arrived, among them Rogue and Bobby who seemed to be happier. Logan had stopped by his office a while ago informing him that Rogue was doing better, and for that he was thankful. He didn’t like to see any of them so unhappy.
After spending all day riding the cycle, Logan returned just after dark, leaving the bike with a full tank of gas where he had found it. Not ready to go inside, he walked around the side of the house toward the back. As he approached the garden he heard giggling and smiled, realizing that once again Bobby and Rogue were breaking curfew. He knew that if they were caught, this time, they would get detention, and when he was sure he wouldn’t embarrass them by his presence he cleared his throat. “You two better get inside before you get detention,” Logan said watching as they hurried to get up off of the soft grassy patch they had been sitting on.
“You won’t tell will you?” Rogue asked, though she asked hoping the Professor was asleep.
“No, not this time, but I think you two better start going to bed at curfew,” he said following them as they started to go inside. At the stairs Logan waited for the kids to say goodnight and was about to go back outside to check the grounds when Rogue stopped him.
“I wanted to thank you for being there for me,” Rogue said.
Logan turned around and when she hugged him he hugged her back. “I said I would look out for you, and for you I will always keep my promise. Now you better get going.” They parted and when he was sure she was safely in her room, he walked back outside inhaling the night air, smelling only the familiar smells of an old house, and the sent of rain which would likely start to fall later that night. What he was glad he didn’t smell was any intruders, and after a moment of lingering he started out into the woods for his nightly patrol.
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