The Wanderer - 256 (Patreon)

[A/N: Sorry guys, I had a busy weekend and hardly time to write! There was also a half-serious timeline problem with the last few chapters since I remembered wanting to include a Halloween party into the story.

I fixed that by simply switching the meeting with Emma and T'Challa from the Sunday to the Friday two days early. Thankfully Halloween was on a Saturday in 2009. So same weekend but instead of November, it is still October.

Enjoy!]

Chapter 256 – Pick Up

[2009 – October – Friday]

Having an incomparably precise perception of time, I could feel it when it was around half past five and knew that it was time to go home, so I simply leaned forward and pushed off the side of the building with my feet.

For a single moment, time seemed to slow as the pull of gravity couldn't be felt just yet and I reveled in it as my thoughts accelerated. I stretched this single moment into several while placing a protective barrier around Arya and communicating to her to be prepared for what came next.

And the instant that I felt her understanding and excitement through our bond, I let go of my thoughts and gravity finally did its work. We barreled towards the ground in a free fall, the wind pulling at my mantle and the hood of my sweater.

I had manifested some casual and comfortable clothes after the meeting with Emma through a bit of restrained reality manipulation. A rather nonsensical use of power to be honest but who would dare judge me for that?

I turned over while I fell, looking up at the clear blue sky and feeling the bright sunlight on my face, Arya's excited cries entering my ears amidst the whistling winds and traffic noises, as did the shocked cries of the few people who saw me fall.

My fall only lasted barely a few seconds though before I spun around in the air to face the ground again while black smoke poured forth from my skin and condensed into a black mask that hid my facial features.

And with a single shift of my thoughts, an ethereal shield spread out from within me and my will manifested as reality. My falling trajectory was altered as I took a sharp turn, changing the vertical fall into a horizontal flight with an upward trajectory.

Accelerating violently, I left behind a controlled sonic boom as I tore apart the atmospheric resistance with my body, rattling the windows of the surrounding buildings and whipping up a fierce wind while I shot off into the distance with supersonic speed, my usually green eyes emitting a faint purple radiance as I did so.

I left behind quite a bit of a commotion with my actions, but with only a few seconds having passed after my departure, the shocked crowd just acted as if they had woken up from a dream, their memories fading like smoke in the wind. The recordings of my take-off though remained.

…

Taking a sip from her water bottle to rehydrate a bit after a moderately tiring dance lesson, Jean sat with some other girls who had attended the same lesson while wiping away a few drops of sweat from her forehead with a towel that she had brought.

She was currently in one of the side wings of the Massachusetts Academy as that was where she was attending her dance class, and the girls around her were some of the regular students of the private school that was managed and owned by her love's older sister Emma.

Jean just listened as the girls talked mostly about some gossip that circulated amongst the student body, though she chipped in every now and then when they made some comments about today's dance lesson.

The dance styles taught during their lessons by Madam Pérez, who was a fit middle-aged Latin American lady, were several, though it mostly focused on ballet and contemporary, along with acrobatic elements and intermittent sessions that taught classical dances.

Jean usually attended the lessons wearing a leotard along with a loose pair of pants that allowed for the necessary freedom of movement, but which some might mistake for a long skirt if she didn't take too large a step.

Not to forget her ballet shoes that provided crucial support for some of the more difficult ballet poses.

And just as Jean was changing out of those shoes to put on some sneakers since the lesson had already ended, she felt Clair nudge her side.

“Dark-and-sexy is here to pick you up.”, the brunette giggled while she pointed to the large double doors that led into the large dancing studio, causing the other girls to follow the direction that she was pointing to with their eyes.

Jean did the same, even though she already knew what to expect since she could feel her love's presence. And what she saw when she eventually turned her head was naturally Elijah who leaned against the door frame, wearing an open black overcoat over a dark wine-red hoodie and a pair of jeans, a pair of chucks on his feet with the same colour as his sweater.

His dark locks looked untamed and somewhat ruffled but his eyes shone brightly in their shadowed beauty while he had this faint smile on his lips and looked back at her. Without even trying, he had this roguish charm that sublimated around him into a sense of mystery and danger, only adding to his attractiveness.

Locking eyes with Elijah for a moment, Jean saw his faint smile turn into a playful smirk while loving mirth lit up his eyes, which in turn made her feel as if she had butterflies in her stomach, a somewhat shy but enamored smile spreading across her lips.

And while Jean was a bit distracted, the girls around her almost immediately started gushing while giggling, proving just how dangerously charming her love was.

“Well, hello stallion.”

“He doesn't happen to have a distant twin, does he? Because I would love to introduce myself.”

"He looks just the right amount dangerous that I wouldn't mind taking some risks, like biting his backside the next morning."

“Gosh, that smile is a panty dropper if I have ever seen one.”

It wasn't until Sammy, a quirky blonde, waved her hand in front of her with a laugh that Jean's focus returned to the present:  "Yoo-hoo, Earth to Jean?"

"Ahh! Sorry.", Jean smiled while a faint blush started to cover her cheeks, "But it seems that I have to leave early today."

“Well, I don't blame you. I would also gladly ditch all of you if a hottie like that was just waiting to ravish me.”, Claire stated with a giggle, “Remember to have fun for me too!”

Jean quickly slipped into her sneakers while she shook her head at Claire's antics, her blush deepening as she retorted with an eye-roll: “You're a plague.”

"And you're blushing.", Claire added with a victorious laugh, obviously taking a simple blush as proof that she and Elijah were going to rip each other's clothes off the first chance they got.

Well, to be honest, Jean wasn't against jumping her love given how sexy he looked, added to the fact that she loved nothing more than the heated intimacy between them when they joined together so deeply, but that was beside the point.

Claire was clearly projecting, her promiscuity not being a secret to Jean and the rest of the school. Though Jean didn't say anything back to avoid sounding defensive, which might just encourage the randy troublemaker.

Instead, Jean simply shook her head a bit helplessly and grabbed the small bag that held within it her dancing shoes, towel, and water bottle, as well as the over-sized light-grey hoodie that she had borrowed from Elijah, before saying her goodbyes and running towards him: "Bye girls!"

Practically diving into her love's embrace, her arms wrapping around his neck as she tiptoed, her soft curves pressing into his muscled form while his arms wrapped themselves around her slim waist, one of his palms holding onto her side while the other laid flat against her lower back and partly on her perky backside, Jean looked up at Elijah with a bright smile.

And before either one of them could say a word, her lips found his for a very short but loving kiss.

Withdrawing a bit, she looked up into his beautiful eyes as she caressed his cheek and brushed through his dark looks with the fingers of her free hand.

“I thought you wouldn't be back until the evening.”, Jean exclaimed with obvious joy, her smile bright like the sun.

"I missed you, so I came back early.", Elijah replied simply while leaning forward, his lips brushing over hers again for the faintest of kisses.

Feeling as if her bones were made of warm wax for a moment, Jean felt as if she could almost melt into her love's embrace when his warm breath brushed over her lips, his rich green eyes gazing into hers.

Jean could spot the swirling darkness dancing in their depths and instinctively felt its overwhelming power. Though even more prominent to her was Elijah's restraint, his incomprehensible and unshakable hold over this seemingly uncontrollable force.

Others couldn't sense how different he was from a normal human or mutant, even though most people subconsciously understood that he was 'special' in one way or another with a glance. But Jean could see it and feel it, and she loved him all the same.

Her smile growing even brighter at his answer, she accused him tenderly as she took a step back and reluctantly left his embrace: “Charmer.”

"Guilty as charged.", Elijah admitted playfully as he leaned forward a bit and lovingly placed a kiss on her ear while taking the bag from her hands so that he could carry it for her, though she interrupted him with a soft gesture as she held his arm.

“I need the sweater, my love.”, she explained as she quickly fished his hoodie out of the linen bag and slipped it on. His scent that still clung to the piece of clothing caused Jean to sigh as she subconsciously raised her hands hidden in the overlong sleeves to press her small nose into them.

Noticing that Elijah was staring at her with warm eyes and a faintly mischievous smirk, she couldn't help the growing blush while informing him: “It smells like you … “