Flickers (Charles Xavier)

Chapter 9

Iris began to stir at the sound of voices and movement in the mansion. As she opened her eyes, she realised that her head was laying on Charles' chest, and the two of them were curled up on the rug in the living room.

She felt indescribably happy for a moment, and longed to stay there forever with Charles.

"Iris! Charles! Where are you?"

Reality suddenly slapped Iris around the face as she remembered what was to happen today. They were going to face Shaw. Her happiness seemed to seep away, and she felt a sense of dread settle in her chest.

Charles began to wake up beneath her, and he silently reached out and held onto her hand.

"Has anyone found us yet?" He murmured quietly, and she shook her head.

"I suppose we should get up," She whispered, "Before they do."

The two of them got up slowly, and Charles muttered, "I'll make sure no one comes this way while you go up and grab something to wear."

"My knight in shining armour," Iris smiled slightly, leaning up to kiss him before darting out of the room and up the stairs.

Once she had showered and pulled on some clothes, she made her way back down into the kitchen for breakfast.

"There you are!" Raven called out, "I was beginning to wonder what you and Charles were up to."

Iris barely had time to register that Raven was in her natural blue form as Charles closed the fridge door and asked, "Just what are you implying, Raven?"

Iris felt her cheeks flush, and she turned away from Raven to conceal the smile on her face.

"We can't hang around for too long," Moira told her, "We don't want to be late."

"Absolutely fine," Iris smiled, grabbing an apple and taking a bite from it, "How did everyone sleep?"

Only Alex and Sean seemed to have had a good rest, everyone else seemed stressed or distracted.

Charles slid onto the seat beside Iris and asked where Hank was. Everyone muttered that they had no idea, and Iris felt her skin prickle with worry. Charles, sensing her fear, reached out and covered her hand with his own, "I'm sure he's sorting out the plane. No need to worry."

Iris glanced over at Erik, who had been wordless all morning. He was staring into the distance, his expression unreadable. Iris didn't have to be a telepath to know that he was thinking about Shaw.

Shaw's name caused her chest to feel tight. She hated him more than she could even imagine, but she feared him as well. What he had done to her all those years ago- could he do it again?

As her thoughts flickered to her parents again, the kitchen seemed to darken for a split-second.

No, she told herself, Not now. She was squeezing the apple so tightly she thought it would explode, and she was no longer conscious of the people around her. She just didn't want to think about Shaw. Not if her powers were going to spiral out of control.

"Iris," A soothing voice whispered, startling her enough to drop the apple.

Everyone else had left the kitchen apart from Charles, who was facing her with wide, worried eyes.

"Sorry," She shook her head, "I, I was-"

"Thinking about Shaw," Charles murmured, "I know. It's okay, Iris. We will deal with him. You don't have to see him today if you don't want to, not if it's going to upset you."

Iris pushed herself up from the chair and stood up quickly, "Charles- he terrifies me. I'm worried that something could happen to me, that he could try and control me again, and I'm worried that he'll try to wipe my memory again."