The Wanderer - 193 (Patreon)

[A/N: Hey guys!

Even though I would like to write a bit more for 'Rise From The Ashes', I do understand that a lot of people are eagerly awaiting more content for this story, so I took yesterday to get back into 'The Wanderer' since it has been two weeks since I last wrote a chapter for it.

There will probably also be a lot of slice of life chapters for 'The Wanderer' for awhile as things are calming down a bit before it's time to make a move once again for Elijah, so be prepared for that.]

Chapter 193 – Unexpected

[2009 – October]

*RING* *RING*

A loud ring echoed through the whole school building, and in response, the whole place seemed to erupt with a lively and buzzing atmosphere that starkly contrasted the calm just a few moments ago, which was normal considering that the bell signified the end of the school week with it being a Friday afternoon.

Quickly packing up our stuff while Mrs. Whitley called out our mathematics assignments for the week, which she expected to be handed in next Friday, I slung my schoolbag over my shoulder and turned to Jean and the others.

"So, first Gino's and then to the mansion?", Jean asked while looking at the group, which included Ellie, Yukio, Laura, and me, her soft hand reaching out to take hold of mine as she leaned against my side, half-hugging my free arm.

"They do have pasta at Gino's, don't they?", Yukio asked with an eager smile.

Rolling his eyes at the question, Peitro answered before Jean or I could: “It's an Italian place, they obviously have pasta.”

"Sounds kinda racist if you say it like that.", Ellie mumbled under her breath while Yukio seemed to just ignore Pietro's teasing.

It made me smirk because of the dry tone in which she said it

, though Pietro acted as if he suddenly suffered from selective deafness.

"Let's go, I'm hungry!", Yukio called out excitedly, grabbing Ellie's hand and pulling her along as she turned to leave the classroom.

Our classmates had already started to leave the room, obviously eager to start their weekend, but as our small group filed out of the room, a rather unexpected someone was waiting for us.

"H-Hey, Jean.", Rogue called out to my redhead tentatively, a wobbly smile on her face. Her cheeks gained a red tint and she seemed supremely uncomfortable facing the whole group.

"We'll wait at the school gate.", Ellie stated while giving Jean and me a look after shaking off her short-lived surprise.

Grabbing Yukio's hand, she then went ahead with her curious girlfriend, who on her part just grabbed the handle of Pietro's bag and dragged him along, which was obviously something he was reluctant about, as evidenced by the longing looks he threw over his shoulder.

Yukio might enjoy gossip more than anyone I had ever met, but she knew to act appropriately when the situation demanded it, while Pietro on the other hand had no problem with abandoning any and all morals to entertain himself.

Listening in on conversations that had nothing to do with him was just a rather tame expression of that.

Laura also followed along with the others as I stayed behind with Jean, calmly looking over Rogue and trying to figure out her motives by reading her body language and carefully sensing her emotional state.

“Hey, Rogue.”, Jean eventually replied after the others had left, her tone measured and her posture a bit guarded as she leaned back against the side of my chest, her hand placing my arm around her waist.

Rogue's gaze flickered to me as she looked at the rather intimate way Jean and I stood together, a hint of loneliness and jealousy flashing past in the depths of her eyes before she took a deep breath and lightly shook her head, seemingly shaking off those emotions.

“I wanted to apologize.”, she finally stated while sighing, genuine regret in her voice and expression as her shoulders seemed to slump down a little.

"I should have never sided with Scott and Kurt.", she added while shaking her head, "I know that none of us have it easier and that for some of us, it's even worse when facing some situations like the one we did on our last mission together."

"I should have respected your decision to quit the training but- … But I was jealous and mad at myself. I didn't mean to hurt you.", Rogue voiced out with watery eyes, her gloved hands holding tightly onto her own forearms, "I'm sorry."

Suppressing my surprise at her sudden admission of guilt and her apology, my expression didn't change as I looked at her, my senses and instincts telling me that she was genuine.

I was still suspicious though as I was aware of Xavier's tendency to manipulate the minds of his students, so it wasn't out of question for Rogue's sudden change to be his doing.

My thoughts moving, I employed an ethereal barrier around the goth girl to create a space inside of which she would be shielded from any kind of psychic manipulation, including past ones. It was a risky move as I had no idea what Xavier had done, or if he had done anything at all.

Considering Rogue's rather lethal abilities and her obvious lack of control, it was hard to say if Xavier had left any lasting psychic constructs in her mind as a safety measure.

At least, I wouldn't be surprised if he had done so.

For that same reason, I had offered Ellie and Yukio some mental shields some time ago, which both of them had agreed to without any hesitation. They were very intricate shields and wouldn't hamper the ability of telepathic communication if any telepath attempted such but it would protect them from any kind of mental manipulation or harm.

Considering the unique qualities of Pietro's mutant ability, he didn't really need a mental shield to protect his thoughts from telepaths.

Still, I had offered one to him anyway as a way to protect his mind not just from intrusion but also from harm in case of an attack, though he had rejected my offer rather carefreely.

Naturally, those shields weren't some absolute protective measures but to break through them, the assailant's mind would have to at least rival my own strength since those shields weren't independent constructs.

They were still connected to me, even though I had anchored them to Yukio's and Ellie's minds while keeping them active through Program.

There was no change in Rogue's expression or demeanor though after I had placed down an ethereal shield, signifying that it was her own free will that had led her to approach Jean and apologize for her past actions, causing my impression of her to improve drastically.

Simply being able to acknowledge that she had made a mistake and asking for forgiveness wasn't a quality to be overlooked in another person.

It showed that despite her age, and the rather obvious difficult situation that she had found herself in, Rogue wasn't just a bratty teen but possessed a certain sense of maturity and had her heart in the right place, even if it took her a while to find it.

It didn't change my thoughts about Xavier though since I wasn't delusional enough to see him in a more favorable light just because he hadn't fiddled with the mind of a vulnerable young girl under his care, which I knew with certainty wasn't something beyond the realm of possibility for him.

…

“Hey, Rogue.”, Jean greeted her former teammate with a decidedly neutral tone, trying to not let it show that she still felt hurt whenever she thought of the other girl's actions a few weeks back while she leaned against Elijah, his presence and warmth giving her comfort and support.

She and Rogue had been friends ever since the other girl had started to attend Xavier's after her accident with her former boyfriend nearly two years ago.

The two of them being on the same recruit team had just deepened their friendship, or at least she had thought that it had.

And even though Jean had always known that Rogue was struggling greatly to overcome the limitations that her abilities forced upon her, physical contact being something that she yearned for practically every waking minute, she had never thought that Rogue would betray their friendship out of jealousy.

It had hurt her deeply since Jean didn't have many close friends, to begin with.

Though as she continued to listen to Rogue's apology and felt the immense regret and shame that plagued her mind, Jean's anger couldn't help but dissipate slowly as softer emotions started to bloom in her heart.

She wanted to forgive Rogue, the words already on the tip of her tongue. In the end though, different words left her parted lips.