Us Against the World

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  A familiar street sign shot past the car as I continued to drive, but knew that we were getting close. Last time I drove down this road was after Kota, and when the cops were after me. Although, this time, I followed the speed limit. I turned my head to look at dad, who was still sleeping beside me. I noticed his body tremble then his fist clench in his sleep. Was he having a nightmare?
  I reached over and touched his shoulder, "Dad."
  Logan's eyes flickered open as he looked into my concerned eyes. It seemed to take him a few moments but he replied, "What?"
  "You okay?" I asked, softly.
  Dad ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath before replying with a quiet, "Yeah. What's up?" Which was a nice way of asking 'why the hell would you wake me up'.
  "Um, we're almost there. Just thought you'd want to know..." I answered. I hesitated then added, "I'm sorry, I probably should've waited."
  "No, no. It's fine... Thanks for waking me up," he commented, awkwardly.
  "Do you -... wanna talk about it?" I questioned.
  Dad scoffed and shook his head, "No, I don't."
  I bit my lip while my mind wandered, but I kept my eyes focused on the road. It wouldn't take long to get to the school so I pressed harder on the gas to get there faster. "I can help. If you tell me," I offered.
  Dad turned his head to me and lifted his eyebrow, "You first."
  "Touché," I muttered. Then I grinned, "Great minds dream alike."
  "I don't think that's how it goes," Logan pointed out.
  I laughed and nodded, "Probably not."
  After I turned left, I followed another street until the school came into view. We drove up the long driveway and we watched as a few kids played in the field. My heart filled with warmth because I was so happy to be back.
  I glanced back at dad but raised my eyebrow, "I'm going to say now, you look tired..."
  Logan rubbed his hand against his face in an exhausted expression then he sighed, "It's because I am."
  It wasn't really surprising that he was tired because he had gotten poor sleep the night before; the drive was long, we went to bed late, and he woke up really early. I ignored the thoughts as I turned back towards the school. I smashed my hand into the center of the wheel and a loud honk sounded from the car, "Well, guess it's time."
  As soon as I shut the door to the truck, everyone - that was inside - ran outside.
  "Kris!" Kitty called and ran towards us. Soon, she tackled me with a hug.
  "Woah, hey," I stepped back from the impact but giggled and hugged her back. "It's been a while," I smiled.
  Kitty pulled back and shot me a glare, "A while?! It's been forever!" Then she added, "I'm glad your dad went with you, otherwise he would've been complaining the whole time!"
  Logan fired a cold look at Kitty but was too exhausted to say anything back.
  "Oh my gosh, y'all it's Kris!" Rogue ran towards us and gave me a hug too.
  Bobby was behind her so after Rogue, instead of a hug, Bobby gave me a fist bump which I was happy to return.
  Rogue looked at dad and smiled, "Good to see you again, Logan."
  "Yeah, you too," he returned the smile and gave her a quick side-hug.
  "Careful, Kris get's jealous easily," Bobby gave me a playful smirk.
  "Shut up!" I snapped and punched him on the arm.
  Bobby stepped back and held his arm in pain, "Ow..." but he was still smirking.
  The next thing I notice is a blue blur appear out of nowhere and tackle me with a hug, "Kris! Wir haben du uns sehr gefehlt (We missed you very much)!"
  I returned the hug to the blue man but added, "Kurt, I don't understand German..."
  Kurt pulled back with a smile and answered, in English, "It's good to have you back."
  Then, Jean and the professor came out of the school to greet us, "Hey, Kris," Jean smiled at me and gave me a gentle hug, unlike everyone else who just tackled me. Jean then turned to Logan to chat.
  "We're glad you're back, Kristine," the professor smiled at me.
  I nodded, "I'm glad to be back."
  "Uh-oh, incoming," Jean turned toward us.
  "Wha-?" I started but then heard.
  "OH MY GOD!!!" there was a voice behind us, near the school. Then I was smothered with arms.
  I tried to pull away because I was suffocating, "Can't. Breathe..."
  Out of all the people it could've been, it turned out to be Scott. His grip lessened so I could breathe but he didn't let go.
  Logan stopped talking to Professor X to add, "I feel the love, Scott."
  Scott was still holding me when he shot Logan a glare, "Just making sure you didn't get her killed."
  Dad paled and glanced down, and I noticed - out of the corner of my eye - that the professor and Jean exchanged glances. My mind instantly went to the lake and I figured that's what everyone was thinking about; and by everyone, I mean the usual of the professor, Jean, and - of course - dad and I.
  I was afraid of it getting awkward so I answered, "I'm fine, Scott. You can let me go now."
  Scott let go then cleared his throat, "Right... Well, I guess I'll let you guys get settled. But can we talk later?"
  I smiled and nodded, "Alright."
  "Um, excuse me," I heard the small voice, as he tried to push his way through the crowd that was building around us.
  I narrowed my eyebrows, "Daniel?"
  "Yeah, can I-," he was still trying to push past some people.
  So, I smiled and grabbed his hand, then I pulled him towards me and into my arms. "I missed you a lot," I mumbled into his shoulder.
  His shoulders shook as he chuckled, "I'm glad you haven't forgotten about me."
  I squeezed my arms around him tighter, "Shut up. I'd never."
  It got quiet so I turned my head to see everyone watching us, which made me very uncomfortable - especially since Logan was there - so I pulled away and smiled at Daniel.
  I cleared my throat, "Well, I'm gonna check the school out... with my dad."
  Daniel blushed and stepped back, "Yeah, of course. Glad you're back."
  My cheeks turned into a rosy color, too, "Me too. Hey, I'll see you later?" 
  "Of course," Daniel smiled and bowed his head.
  Then I glanced toward my father and we walked back toward the school. There was a lot that the group needed to talk about so we walked into the school. I peered around the school and noticed that there were new repairs so I took in the observations. The school was drastically different than the last time I was here. 
  "Wow, it's really different," I noted aloud. 
  Then a familiar voice sounded from down the hall and a figure appeared, "And we, uh, upgraded the Danger Room."
  I shot around and an instant smile slapped on my expression, "Forge!"
  The awkward mechanic flinched but welcomed my arms as I hugged him tight. Well, until I squeezed too tight then he gasped, "Okay, too hard."
  I blushed then pulled away, "Oh... sorry." 
  "It is really good seeing you, though," Forge gave a sheepish smile. Then he glanced over at dad who was crossing his arms with obvious annoyance, "And I have to admit, I did miss that look." 
  "Look at you, trying to be the better person," Logan snapped toward the mechanic.
  I shot my head to glare at dad then I swung my arm and slapped his arm, "Be nice."
  Of course, it didn't hurt him at all because - well, come on, it's Logan. So, dad just scoffed but looked away from the mechanic which was a good of an armistice as any. 
  "So, when you get the chance, you and Logan should check out the Danger Room," Forge suggested. 
  I smirked, "Consider it done." 
  Everyone was pouring back into the school so another voice cut the conversation, "Some beef roast is almost done. Once you guys get settled in, it'll probably be ready," Jean smiled toward us.
  After giving a quick nod, I glanced back towards dad, "Care to show me to my room?"
  Logan's eyes flickered toward me and there was a gleam of annoyance but that was just the cover because I could tell that there was a spark of amusement as he tilted his head, "Mm-hm."
  So, I followed after him and walked down the familiar hallways of the school that became home to me. My heart was filled with warmth at the fond memories and even reaching my bedroom made a joyful smile spread to my face.
  When I set a few things down, I took a breath of relief, "It's good to be back."

(Hey! A chapter! Yeah, it's been a while. Will I finally stick to a schedule? No promises, but I have more time so I will try. Sorry for the delay guys but thanks to everyone who waited patiently for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it and until next week! I'll also have to figure out another day to post so... Stay tuned for that! And thank you guys for reading. Have a great week!
~~~~~ LL2z)