Chapter Text
The next day, Frank decided to help Jean slip out of the city unnoticed.
At the bus stop, she turned to him. “Hey.”
He didn’t look at her yet, just staring off into the distance. “What?”
“Thanks for not shooting me.”
Frank’s jaw clenched. “Kid, don’t even start with me.”
“I’m not trying to start anything.”
Frank sighed, finally meeting her gaze. “The hell is it, then?”
Jean simply shrugged. “Nothing. Just… try to take care of yourself, alright? You don’t have to live like this forever.”
Frank snorted, shaking his head. “I’d rather die.”
“I know that, but you’re clearly not okay. When I went into your mind that day, I saw things.”
He looked away again. “You had no right to do any of that shit.”
Jean kept looking at him, and he could feel her staring at him. “I know, but it’s loud in there. Even I can’t reach you.”
“Kid, if you think I’m gonna go to therapy or some shit like that, you’re dead wrong. I ain’t going, and you can’t make me. I ain’t got the time for that nonsense. And you’re not reading my mind anymore. Got it?”
“So you’re saying you won’t let yourself get better?”
Frank huffed. “That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you meant.” Jean crossed her arms. “Look, you don’t have to listen to me, and I’m not trying to tell you what to do, either. It was just a suggestion, so take it or leave it.”
Frank looked at her again, but he couldn’t find the words anymore.
“You can’t help Peter or anyone else out there if you don’t help yourself,” she simply stated, then got on the bus that had finally arrived. “Just think about it.”
Frank watched the bus pull away, then shook his head and walked back.