fade away.

twelve.

. chapter twelve

"First day of training."

It was early morning and August was just barely standing. Now that her mutation made an appearance, Charles decided that she should start training straight away. Which leads to waking up at six in the morning, wearing itchy sweats and waiting for Charles's challenges.

"Are you ready?"

August wanted to nod her head, but she couldn't find the energy.

She heard Charles chuckle, and it made her smile.

"I'm sorry, Charles," she yawned. "I didn't get a good night's rest."

Behind Charles, August saw three bodies approaching with large buckets held in their hands. Alex, Raven, and Sean were all smirking as they inched closer to Charles. It took everything in August not to laugh aloud.

Just when the three young mutants reached Charles, he shook his head and stepped away right when the three threw the water.

The coldness bit at August's skin, making her jump in surprise as she let out a loud yelp. She was now drenched in ice cold water, glaring at the laughing mutants in front of her.

"It is not funny," she grumbled, rubbing at her numb arms in an attempt to create some friction.

"Sneaking up on a telepath?" Charles teased, turning to the mischievous three. "Not the smartest thing I've ever heard."

"Hey," Sean shrugged, "it was worth a shot. I was hoping to see you sopping wet, Professor."

"Oh, did I miss something?"

Everyone looked over at Erik, who was at the edge of laughter at the sight of August.

"Not a single word, Erik," August huffed.

"Alright, come on, back to training," Charles ordered, waving the mutants off. "I'm sure you'll dry, August."

August groaned. "You're going to make me train in wet clothes? How rude of you, Professor."

Charles let out a small, playful gasp while holding a hand to his chest. "We're going back to Professor now? What's next, Xavier again? I thought you finally settled on calling me Charles."

"Oh, don't act so heartbroken," August scrunched up her nose, smiling at her Charles. "Don't friends usually give nicknames?"

"Those are hardly nicknames," Charles said, nodding his head in the direction of the gardens.

"Explain it to me, then," August requested, walking alongside Charles towards the garden.

"A nickname is a special name that you give to someone -perhaps a friend, yes- and you are the only one that can call them said name."

August nodded, stealing a glance up at him. "Does anyone call you Charlie?"

Charles cocked his head to the side in thought. "No, not anyone that I can really think of."

"That's your new nickname," August grinned, grasping his forearm in raw excitement.

"And I suppose yours can be Jade, because your eyes are a magnificent green," Charles grimaced. "Oh god, that's an awful nickname, never mind."

Releasing Charles's arm, August said, "no, no, it's fantastic. I love it."

"There's not much thought put into it."

"Oh, who needs thoughts, anyway?"

After a moment of silence, Charles stopped walking and faced August.