C H A P T E R   4 :   G E T   R E A D Y   F O R   T H E   A F T E R S H O C K S

"You're headed towards the cafeteria?" Alex asked me as people gazed curiously at us. Most girls' eyes were having breakfast with his and Roberto's faces, but apart from that and  from the amount of stares they were receiving, I understood their visits to the school were uncommon but extremely cherished. The two seemed about my age, perhaps even older and from their interactions it was obvious they were used to each other's presence. They behaved like a team.

I nodded.

"Want some company?" Roberto offered with a kind smile. Now that he wasn't trying to impress me, he was quickly becoming more pleasant. Most people were more beautiful when they didn't try, anyway.

"Tempting... but no. I can see you're famous around here. If I walk into that cafeteria holding your hands I'll never be seen as me. I need to go in there alone to make a statement by myself. I was not made to hide behind anyone's shadow."

But my own.

"Brave." Alex nodded approvingly. "Most people on their first day would take advantage of our popularity here to try and quickly make a reputation for themselves. Most people would jump at the first chance they'd have to not be alone."

"Most people is a blurry, abstract concept, isn't it?" I shrugged. "Most people is never a single person. So, are you members of the X-Men?"

"I am." Alex answered simply.

"I'm trying." Roberto said at the same time.

"Which means you won't be seeing us around here as much as you'd like." Alex added with a smug smile. I winked at him playfully to hide my disappointment. Seemed like everyone I took a liking to eventually run away. Or made me run away.

"I'll try not to forget about you. When are you leaving?"

Alex shrugged. "We never know. When we're needed."

"You know what," Robert suggested, his dark eyes piercing mine, "why don't you forget about the cafeteria and come with us to the kitchen instead? There's no pressure there and I make awesome tapioca omelets. It would be a shame if you never got to try one."

"Or two." I winked happily. If there was one thing I couldn't refuse, it was food. Or the beginning of a bond.

***

After breakfast, Alex and Roberto had some X-Men issues to take care of so I went outside to enjoy my free morning. It was a sunny day and some students were already having classes outside: a group was running along the forest while another engaged in hand-to-hand combat. I watched them for a while, evaluating their technique. Some were very good. None was excellent. No one had been trained like me, I suppose, and it was for their best. No one should ever have to be trained like me.

Seeing them in action increased my impatience to get down to business. I was pumped for the physical classes. I took a paper out of my bag and checked my schedule once again:

8.30 – 10.00 – Genetic and Mutation

10.15 – 11.45 – Training Combat (Private)

12.00 pm – 1.30 pm – Chemistry

1.30 – 3.00 – Lunch Time

3.00 – 4.30 – Biology

4.45 – 6.15 - Training Combat

6.30 – 7.30 – Training Combat (Private)

I sighed. I couldn't let go of the private printed on the paper. All the secrecy of Charles around my teacher was igniting my curiosity even further. Was it a woman or a man? Which one would I prefer? I wondered if my mentor was the same guy Charles had told me about on my way here. The one that was at the same time different and similar to me, whatever that meant.

Since I hated being kept in the dark, I walked around ready to decipher the mystery. Curiosity killed the cat but I still had some lives left to live. Near me was a girl whose hair looked like liquid rainbow. Seriously it had all kinds of colors and I could assume they were all natural. It was also combed in a loose messy braid I could bet had lots of hours of work behind it. She was doing something strange to her skin though, and I narrowed my eyes, trying to unravel the logic. It was as if she was shifting some parts of her skin into different materials: her shoulders seemed made of gold while her arms were glassy-like, and one of her eyes resembled a diamond.

I would never grow tired of the weirdness around here and the peculiar beauty that came with it.

"Hi." I approached her and as quickly as it they had changed, her skin and eye returned to normal. Only her hair remained colorful. She stared at me blankly as if I was not even there. Then she blinked several times and shook her head as if trying to focus.

"Sorry, was still adjusting. Sometimes my eyes get blurry during my morphin time. Did you say anything?"

"So you can shift into any material on Earth?" I asked instead, the interest of a cat burglar getting the best of me.

"Nope. Only those I've seen or touched. Luckily for me Professor X made me travel a lot to try and absorb as much materials as I could so I have a pretty wide range of things I can work with."

My eyebrows raised. Impressive. I felt a hint of jealousy rising in me. How could my powers ever compete with that? Forget it, Felicia. Life is not a competition. Here is not a competition. This is not a jungle; you're not fighting for your survival.

"And before you ask, there are certain parts of my body I'll never try to change." She smirked. "I like them as they are."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Do you happen to know who gives private lessons in combat training?" I interrogated, showing her my schedule. Instead of answering, her eyes widened.

"You lucky girl!" She exclaimed. "I mean, what are the odds! That's practically impossible!"

My impatience raised a bit. Everyone was making a big fuss out of this. Wait, was the Pope going to teach me? Or the president? Was it Captain America?

"What do you mean?"

"It's not like all of us can have classes alone with a teacher, that wouldn't be sustainable. But I'm guessing your power must be mostly physical, since you have so many training lessons... and as if that wasn't enough, you'll have combat training lessons alone with the hottest teacher in school!"

"Scott Summers?" I suggested, because he was hot. And also the only male teacher I knew here other than Charles, who didn't seem to fit the category. Maybe when he was younger, who knew.

"Don't tell me you're Team Scott!" The girl groaned but stopped once she saw my confused expression. "There's a classic argument in the school about who is the hottest: if Scott if Logan, but I'm team Logan. I mean, have you seen the man?"

Clearly, I haven't. So this was what Alex and Roberto were talking about. There was competition around here. I wondered if the teachers involved were aware of it.

"Ok, so Logan is my teacher." I said, preferring to ignore the whole argument. I'd form my opinion once I landed my eyes on that mysterious Logan-guy. So far to me he was like a paper town, a ghost, someone everyone talked about but had no actual existence. Maybe he was playing hide and seek with me and forgot to warn me?

"Yup, I'm pretty sure it's him. I mean, he's not the only one that gives fighting classes but he's the main teacher. If you need specialized training, I bet it's going to be with him. Congrats, cause you just won the school's lottery."

When will I receive my prize, then?

"Is it that strange and unusual to have private classes?"

"Well, a little. I know a boy who has a somewhat similar power to Scott's, so he has private lessons with him. But as far as I can remember no one has had classes alone with Logan. That's not something he would easily accept, in my opinion. Professor X must have doubled his wage. But I'm guessing your abilities must be somehow similar to his? Don't tell me you have claws as well!"

Fuck, so the guy did have claws. At this point it was obvious Professor Logan and the guy Charles had told me about in the car were the same person. So much for the latter being a student...

And then I remembered something else...

"Wait, Logan and claws as in... what do they call him..." 

"Wolverine, of course. Who else?" The girl smiled at me." I forgot you weren't from here." She twirled her hand in the air, turning it into a glove made from all kinds of gemstones, including two of my personal favorites: fluorite and aquamarine. This girl was literally my wish list for Christmas. Or my monthly burglary target.

"I'm Dyani." She held her shiny hand for me to shake which I did suppressing my internal giggling. "Nasty people tend to call me absorbent or tampon. My friends and I call myself Sponge Cake."

She was full of references, undoubtedly.

"Felicia. I have no idea what nasty people tend to call me. Same thing with friends since I have none." It was meant to come out as joke, not to sound so brutally honest. Something about this school was bringing the real me to surface, and I was unsure I was ready to face it.

Dyani nodded in understanding as if she was used to hearing things like this.

"Everything can be changed here. I have to go now but I'll see you around, ok? Enjoy your private sessions." She winked at me, twisting her wrist to make her hand come back to normal. I watched her go away until she looked over her shoulder. "Hum... and try not to get killed, okay? At least in the first lesson."

"What do you mean?" I questioned. God, this school was confusing. Everything seemed to send me into Bieber-mode.

"You'll know once you meet him." She replied simply, disappearing inside the mansion. I shook my head and walked through the fields towards the lake, trying to make sense of Dyani's words. I had been excited for the physical part of my classes but now I wasn't so sure. I wanted to train my abilities and put them to proof, yes, I mean, since I would have to live with them for the rest of my life, I wanted them to at least reach their full potential. I knew there was still a long way to go and I had to admit expert guidance would be good. I wanted to be challenged and pushed to my limits, I wanted to find the better me, turn into my best version, but if I didn't get along with the teacher, none of that would matter. If I had to spent so much time of my day with someone I couldn't stand I knew I'd quickly give up and go away, and quite honestly, that idea was not very appealing. I had a temper, I knew. If the guy on the other side of it also had one, well, you'd know how the Third World War started.

There was no one at the lake except a guy sitting at its edge, his fingers dipping into the water. I narrowed my eyes since something seemed off. When I came closer, I realized what. The waters stood still. The guy was freaking freezing a small circle in the lake.

Wicked.

"If I had known I would have brought my ice skates." I said as a greeting. One thing I had in common with Bianca (how was that even possible?): I didn't like to have rules limiting my attitudes, choking my behavior, dictating my words and actions.

The guy turned around suddenly, looking startled. Sometimes I forgot how silent I could be when approaching people. Old habits die hard, I supposed. It felt good knowing in the midst of so many remarkable talents I still had some aces up my sleeve.

"Nah, I'm forbidden to froze the lake until Winter. Can you believe people actually want to swim here?" He ironically pointed out. He had icy blue eyes to match his powers and brown hair that was spiked up at the front.

"What, that's all people do in the lake? No skinny dipping? Disappointing." I teased. That's who I was, what I loved to do. Provoking. Leaving a mark on people. If I couldn't shake Earth with my hands, I sure as hell could shake people with my words.

A chuckle of amusement escaped the guy's lips as he took his fingers out of the water. I watched as the lake started to defrost and wondered if it would be weird if all of a sudden I started singing "Let It Go" in full Elsa-style. He got up and handed me a hand to shake, which for my surprise was pleasantly warm.

"I'm Bobby. And you're Felicia, right? The new girl?"

"If I stay until tomorrow will people stop calling me that?" I complained.

"Probably only when somebody else arrives." Bobby declared sympathetically. His forehead was slightly wrinkled, as if he was worried about something. Probably for the same reason he had come to the lake and decided to make a water-based popsicle.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

He frowned. "Why?"

"I don't know, I feel like I interrupted some kind of meditation. It seemed like you were trying to connect with your inner self."

Bobby chuckled. "Nah, I was just thinking... about girls. You can't actually zone out when you're busy thinking about girls."

"So, not just one girl? But the female species in general?"

"Two, in fact." He sat near the lake and without thinking I sat next to him. The back of my thighs protested when small rocks scratched against them, but I paid them no attention. I'd heal faster than any mark could form itself. True scars, though, those were glued to my soul, unerasable.

"I know it's a long shot but I'm gonna say it's complicated." I said, trying to ease some of his build up tension. I didn't know why. I was untrained in the arts of being nice. Yet here I were.

"It is." He forced a smile but instantly turned serious. "There's this girl I like a lot. Like, a lot. Anna Marie. Known as Rogue." Just in the way he pronounced her name his feelings were palpable. "But..."

"Why is there always a but?" I grumbled, hugging my knees.

"No idea. But the thing is... she has the power to absorb the thoughts, abilities and memories of other people through physical contact. The downside is that while doing so she physically hurts the person she's touching. She refuses to touch me because of that, she's scared of hurting me and says she doesn't want to access any part of me that I haven't chosen to show her. For all those reasons, our relationship is not very... physical. She always wears gloves and sleeves and sometimes the lack of her skin just drives me... crazy. I want to hold her, like, really have her in my arms, and I can't. She blames herself for that even though it's not her fault. I try to help her as I can but sometimes there's just nothing we can do but to see our loved ones suffer. And it's hard settling with that, the feeling of being so powerless. It's fucked up knowing you have these awesome powers but you're still not invincible. Something always beats you."

When I said it was complicated, I didn't think it was at a Romeo-and-Juliet or Rose-and-Jack level. I didn't know we would enter the dimension of the 4D's: desire, disaster, dilemma and drama. If everyone ended up talking about love with me, I should open an office. Fix all hearts but my own.

"What about the other girl? How does she fit into that story?"

"Kat. Known as Kitty." He stated, to which my eyes couldn't help but narrow. Was she like me? "Kitty is a totally different matter. She can phase through solid matter."

Better.

"Wait, like ghosts? She can pass through walls?"

"Among other things, yes. Lately, since my relationship with Rogue is shaky, I've been hanging out a lot with her. And I'm confused. With Kitty I can have a normal, fun relationship. With Rogue everything is just so... difficult."

"But... also more intense, right? More meaningful?"

Bobby stared at me for a while, thinking.

"I, well... yes."

"Easy is often less rewarding. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the prize. But only you can know for sure. Only you can feel your emotions and know which ones are worth fighting for. Worth chasing."

Bobby smiled.

"Thanks. You only got me more confused."

I chuckled. "You're welcome. I'm not the best adviser, I don't know you or those girls. But believe me, Bobby, love is the biggest rule breaker there is out there, and this coming from someone whose favorite hobby is, well... breaking rules. So... don't think too hard. Go with your feelings. And whatever you do, just... respect them. Try not to hurt them. I'm sure your heart's big enough for both of them."

"Are you suggesting I should try polygamy?" Bobby asked, a smile telling me he was more relaxed. A trace of pride invaded me. I had helped someone. Dammit, I didn't think it would feel so good.

"No, I'm saying that if you can't love them both with the same type of love, love them both with different kinds of love. Friendship doesn't need to come in just one size."

Bobby nodded. "I don't want to lose the friendship of either of them, I'll try to figure me out as soon as possible. Really, though, thank you, Felicia. For listening to my tragic love life and helping me sorting things out."

I shrugged. "Actually, I'm expecting something in return."

His eyebrows raised in apprehension.

 "Relax, I just want to know if you know anything about this teacher named Logan?" 

And so the Hunt continues.

"Really?" He frowned, suddenly looking upset.

"What?"

"You too?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, so I'll wait for you to explain."

"It's like every damn girl in this school is trying to impress him, some even try to hit on him." He sighed, running a hand through his shaved chin. "And believe me, that's some feat because Logan has the ability to scare everyone off with just one glare. So the ones that resist his death stare and insist, well, it never works. Every time every single one is rejected, but that only seems to make him more wanted. It's like they like that. His unreachability. Rogue had a crush on him too, but fortunately it eventually faded away."

The curiosity in me just kept growing with every little detail I got about this guy, and so did my annoyance. It felt like a stunt: everyone was either trying to push me away from him or pull me closer. Everyone either feared, respected or admired him, and that was a reason to envy him.

"Don't worry, Bobby, I have zero interest in that Logan guy. I'm not trying to impress him, I don't even know him. I just found out I'm going to have private classes with him."

Bobby sighed of relief. He was clearly not in a mood for a Logan-fangirling attack.

"Thank God. So you're having classes alone with him? Good thing you seem tough."

"Seriously, is he that scary? Does he Hulk out or something?"

"You have no idea." The half smile plastered on his face made me question whether he was joking or speaking the ultimate truth. "Logan can... be hard to deal with. He's a good guy, but he has an attitude. And a general problem with other people. It's nothing against anyone in particular, just... with the world as a whole."

"So he's a loner?" Sounds familiar.

"Yes, he likes to be on his own without anyone bothering him. So it definitely surprises me he'd agree to private lessons. Anyway, I think you can handle him. What power do you have?"

Despite having other people around here asking me that, Bobby was the first one that didn't make me think twice. He had showed me his powers and told me a chapter of his story. This guy was open and kind and honest and I needed that in my life.

A natural smirk made its way onto my face as I expanded my fingers. I watched Bobby attentively as his expression went from expectant to shocked when my normal nails started growing into long, strong cat nails. I flinched a little under the familiar pain.

"You have claws! Unbelievable." Bobby said with enthusiasm as I retracted them. I grinned. It was nice seeing someone with such a cool power being interested in something less... woow. "Felicia, you have to get Logan's face on tape when he realizes he's not the only one with claws. I mean, I need to see that."

I laughed.

"Please don't tell anyone. I want to make him a surprise."

"Sure, not a problem." Bobby's smile was enigmatic. "But get ready for the aftershocks."

 Guess I was not the only one aiming to shake the world after all.

A/N: Picture is Dyani Kendrix played by Kirsten Zellers.

I know you're all waiting for Wolverine to appear, don't worry, he makes his magnificent appearance next chapter ;)

QUESTION: So... #TeamLogan or #TeamScott? I'm #TeamLogan all the way ;)