Archangel - Warren Worthington

Chapter 9

"NO!" I shouted a little too loudly before I could stop myself

The touch of Warren's soft white feathers still lingered in my mind. I didn't want those wings to go away. I couldn't understand why Warren wanted these new metal wings so badly. Sure, his old ones were a bit damaged, but in time they would heal. Even with all of the scars and burns, I still found his wings to be beautiful. I would give anything to have powers like the other X-men, yet it seemed like Warren didn't want his mutation at all.

Everyone in the room gave me a weird look, except for Warren who kept looking at the ground.

"What if something happens to him, or the surgery goes wrong?" I asked, slightly calmer

"Don't worry, Cassidy. There's only a small chance that something would go wrong, and even if it does, it will be minor." Uncle Xavier said in an attempt to comfort me

I didn't know exactly why, but I felt a deep connection with Warren. Even though everyone seemed to think that he would only hurt me, there was just something about him that pulled me in.

"Warren, if you're ready we can start the procedure now; that way, if everything goes as planned, the day after tomorrow you'll be ready for training." Uncle X said, motioning for Warren to follow him

Warren nodded and followed him out of the room, avoiding eye contact with me.

Once they were gone, I shut the door and slid down till I was sitting on the floor with my back pressed against the door. As I buried my face in my hand I felt Jean's comforting hug engulf me.

"You ok?" She asked, sitting down next to me

I lifted my head and shrugged.

"I don't know why I care so much about him. I just do," I said through a sigh

"That's completely normal, Cassidy. You're worried that something will happen. This is you admitting to yourself that you have feelings for him." Jean said, pulling away so she could see my face but not quite letting go.

I threw my hands up in annoyance, "I DON'T HAVE FEELINGS FOR HIM!"

Jean raised an eyebrow, "So you're just friends?"

"Yes," I said, my tone exasperated

It didn't matter if I had feelings for Warren, he would never want to be in a relationship with me. I thought he hated physical touch, but when he let me feel his wings earlier, I thought that maybe we were starting to get somewhere. But Warren clearly had something else in mind when he so quickly and easily accepted Uncle X's offer.

"So it wouldn't bother you if I told you Jubilee said he was cute earlier," She asked suspiciously.

I frowned. There was no reason that I should have been jealous over what Jubilee had said. Warren hadn't shown any romantic interest yet, but part of me wondered what it would be like if he did truly have feelings for me. Hopefully, we could stay friends though. After all, I didn't want to lose Warren because he didn't feel the same way as I felt about him.

"What am I going to do to pass the time until tomorrow? It's hard to believe that I won't be seeing him until then. Warren and I had plans to just hang out and relax all day." I said, trying to change the subject

"Well, we could start by getting something to eat." She suggested

"Ugh, it's going to be super awkward with Peter, isn't it?" I groaned

"Cassidy, he's just doing this because he cares about you." She said "More than you will ever know" She whispered the last part under breath

"Huh?"