Cinderellas

Cinderellas Chapter Six (NC-17)

Disclaimers Apply

A/N Foxfeather is also a Goddess oftitatitasking…style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Readers/Reviewers: *glomp a lot *style="mso-spacerun: yes">

I
know. I suck. I realized that right after I stormed out of the school.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I was so mad at her, though, I couldn’t go
back and apologize. Jean says it was
misplaced anger based on embarrassment and self conscious realization.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I’m taking her psychology books from her
when I’m done here… Anyway, I was still
mad at Jubilee but I felt guilty. I
knew she didn’t deserve me snapping like that but I was scared.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I admit it.
I was scared. Someone was either
spying on us or one of our friends…wasn’t.
It was only half past three when I got back and Jubilee wouldn’t be home
till nearly seven since they were training for some competition I really should
have remembered the name of. The
Professor had already heard us out and suggested turning the other cheek but
keeping an eye out, something which I was no longer inclined to find acceptable.style="mso-spacerun: yes">

“Yes,
Rahne?”

He was
still in his office. I have no idea
what he does in there aside from pay bills and look vaguely mysterious, but if
he’s not in Cerebro, he’s there. “Can I
talk to you a minute?”

I’m sure he
already knew what I wanted but bless him, he just smiled and nodded.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Of course.
Shut the door if you’d like us to have some privacy,” he added as one of
the younger, newer mutants went running by, chased by Kurt in the throes of
some game.

“I…um…”
damn my tongue. “I don’t know what to
do!”

“Ah…Rahne,
I must admit I did not need to be psychic to see this coming.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> This is a difficult situation, even for
people far older than you and Jubilee.
It took great courage to come out to your friends and great depth of
caring for each other to have this relationship in the first place,
despite…issues…” He sort of stopped,
giving me one of those looks he’s so damned good at.

“Yeah,
well…I think things are getting a lot worse soon.” I told him what St John had said and even about Mandy in the gym.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “I don’t want things to get worse.”

He sighed
and tented his fingers, a sure sign he was in deep thought.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Though, you know, I don’t think there’s a
time when he isn’t in deep thought of some sort… “Rahne, there comes a time when demons must be confronted.
Granted, these particular demons arose sooner than one might expect and they
are more…elusive…than most.”

“Sooner
than… you mean you expected this?”

“Rahne…”

“Right,
right. If it wasn’t the gay thing, it
would be the mutant thing…” I felt hollow
and raw, like I had been crying for hours when in fact I had not shed a
tear.

“It will
always be something, Rahne. Life does
not hand you happiness. You have to
work for it.”

“I don’t
want to,” I said like a child.

“Neither do
I,” he said. I think he laughed a little.

“What do we
do? Can’t you, I don’t know, scan
people or something?”

“Rahne…”

“I know, I
know. No using powers to make life
easier…”

“I was just
going to point out how difficult that would be even for me and Jean working together.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Someone would have to be thinking it just at
the moment we scanned them unless I were to do a more in depth search which
would require a great deal of time and energy…”

“Unfeasible,”
I sighed, using Scott’s word of the week.

“Quite.”

“What do we
do?” I repeated. “I want to protect her
and…and myself…”

“There’s
nothing wrong with self preservation, Rahne.”

“I just
don’t know where to start! What would
you do if you were in my place?”

This seemed
to startle him for a minute because he just looked at me with that expression
he gets when Kurt hangs upside down from the light fixtures.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Well, that’s a good question…”

I bit my
tongue on asking him to hurry up, old man, but I think he caught it anyway because
he raised a brow at me and smirked. Professor Xavier smirked.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “Sorry…”

“I think I
would want to go as I began. I would
not seek out trouble but if it came to me, I would deal with it.”

“Vague, but
unclear,” I muttered, something I had heard Kitty say once and I found funny.

“It’s
called buying time. It’s in all the how
to be a mentor manuals,” he said facetiously. “If I were in your shoes, I would
ignore it.”

“How can
we?”

“Any
insults, innuendo, verbal attacks…
Pretend you don’t care.”

“How can
we?” This time even I heard the whine.

“The other
option is to confrot. Go to the
principal, go to the administration.
Take your evidence and present it.
Demand to be treated fairly and as the law provides.”

“That means people would
know…definitely know…”

“Yes.”

“I’m not
ready for that…”

“Is
Jubilee?”

“I…she
might be. She wants to go to prom
together.”

“And you
said no.” He smiled kindly.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “I heard Bobby talking about it with St John
the other day as I…um…as I transchanneled.”

He seemed sheepish
and I had a feeling this was as close as I’d ever get to hearing him admit his
cooking show fascination. For some
reason, this made me smile and feel a little less like screaming.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “So you’re saying I need to talk about this
with Jubilee?”

Professor
Xavier cocked his head to one side and looked very…Professorish.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> “I didn’t say that…”

“Not in so
many words.”

“You’re a
very intelligent girl, Rahne. You and Jubilee both. Whichever path you take, either together or apart, is up to you.”

“Thanks…”

“Rahne, I
won’t always be around to fix things…”

“I
know. But while you are, we appreciate
it.”

He
chuckled. “Jubilee is home early.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Why don’t you go talk to her?”

“She
is? How did you…oh.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Right.
Psychic.” As I left, I realized
I didn’t exactly feel better but I did have a notion as to how to do so.style="mso-spacerun: yes">