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Charles
My first stupid thought of the day is not the last. The first one being: let me go outside and walk around to think about my life and procrastinate while I’m in the middle of writing an important essay.
The second stupid thought is slightly worse. I wonder if I can read someone inside the mansion from outside.
The fact that I succeed makes me even more curious, and the fact that I succeed in reading not just one person but everyone in the school definitely is something that should not have happened given what it spurs me to do.
Sean joins me outside at one point to mess around his basketball, and due to his impeccable timing, he’s there to witness the rise and fall of my third and last stupid thought of the day:
I wonder how far I can stretch my telepathy.
I stand just outside of the brick patio, squinting into the trees. Placing two fingertips against my temple, I close my eyes and extend my reach. Lights flash behind my eyelids, the green of the trees, the brown of the soil, the multicolored flowers in the forest. I don’t typically try to read past what I can see unless the situation calls for it. Already, I’m getting dizzy and pain throbs in my skull. But because of my stupid intrusive thought, against my better judgement, I decide to keep going. As I near the city, the colors get more violent. The red, yellow, and green of traffic lights, screeching cars, horns blaring in my ears, drunks shouting on the streets. The life and bustle of Westchester fills me up and overflows into my being, and with all the sounds and the sights and the sensations of the urban wilderness comes a rush of burning pain through my nerves. I swallow against a groan as the pain laces down my neck. It travels down to my spine and now my whole body is tingling. But I keep going. Curiosity is a telepath’s greatest weakness, it seems.
I travel further into Westchester, and at this point, I’m a good few miles out. Every so often, my vision wavers as a new stab of pain splits my head in two, blinding me for a moment. A group of men play games in their apartment, laughing without a care in the world. A grandmother eats lunch with her grandchild. A local walks their dog in the streets and has to swerve to miss a woman speeding past them because she’s late for the subway.
My telepathic line of sight blurs, and this time, it doesn’t clear. It dims, getting dimmer, like the coming of night. Pins and needles prickle through every muscle in my body, accompanied a throbbing pain hammering against the insides of my skull. I’m faintly aware of my balance faltering. I wobble on my feet, and the line between conscious and unconscious grows foggy, getting foggier…
The sun sets on my consciousness as the pain brings me down, and the darkness claims me before I hit the ground.
Erik
I’m in the middle of making a steak and cheddar panini when my phone buzzes. I wipe my greasy hands on a napkin and fish it out of my jean pocket. The contact reads: Sean Cassidy.
With an exaggerated sigh, I answer it. “What’d you do this time?”
“Okay, uh…” His voice shakes. “Don’t shoot the messenger, please, but Charles just passed out. He’s not waking up.”
My heart stops. “What? When?”
“Just now. He was using his powers for something, and then he just…dropped.”
I scramble to turn off the oven. “Is he breathing?”
The pause feels like an eternity and my heart is in my throat.
“Yeah.”
“Where are you?”
“Out back by the patio.”
I rip off my apron and throw it to the ground. “I’ll be right there. Stay with him.”
“Okay, but– ?”
I hang up and break into a run.
Sean
Erik ends the call and I throw my phone in the grass, turning my attention back to Charles, who’s sprawled on the ground. He kind of just looks like he’s asleep and it doesn’t seem like he’s in pain, but then again, I’m not good at checking people for injuries. What if he’s actually injured? Should I do something? Should I check for bleeding or…shit, what do they do in the movies? Will Erik be mad at me if I don’t–
“Sean!”
I whirl around. Erik dashes across the patio. When he spots Charles on the ground, a look of panicked horror crosses his face, and he drops to his knees at Charles’ side, gripping his shoulders. “Charles!”
I back up to give them a little space. Since I’m unsure of what to do next or if I should help at all, I just stand there, swaying awkwardly from side to side.
When he gets no response, Erik gives him a strong shake. “Charles!”
I fidget in place, my stomach churning. I’ve never heard Erik sound so…scared.
Erik runs a shaking hand through his hair, exhaling forcefully.
“Should we call someone?” I venture.
Silence. Then Erik notices I was talking to him and he blows up, “Why the fuck are asking me? I don’t fucking know, I can’t– !”
A groan from Charles startles both of us.
Erik’s head whips around to face him.
Charles grimaces as he comes to, and his eyes slide open, revealing the foggy blue that matches the sky above.
Erik lets out a wheezing laugh, putting a hand on the side of Charles’ face. “Hey, darling. It’s all right, I’m here.”
I raise my eyebrows and try my best to hide the smirk that threatens to emerge. Erik called him darling. That’s not something you call a friend. They are definitely sleeping together. I mean, we kind of already know, what with everything Raven and Alex have said they witnessed, but still. It’s exciting to have my own personal proof.
Charles pushes himself to a sitting position with Erik’s help, and he lets out a strangled cry of pain, lifting a hand to his head.
Erik moves closer to him, close enough that he’s practically in his lap. “What happened?”
Charles squints at Erik through a grimace. “I, um…” He pauses, hesitating. “I…wanted to see how far I could stretch my telepathy. I overdid it.”
In the halting silence that follows, I can see the slight change in Erik’s expression. The twitch of his eyebrows and the faint deepening of his frown shifts it from I’m worried about you to I’m still worried about you but oh my god you did WHAT?
Charles rights himself a bit more, hissing in pain. “Can you help me stand up?”
Erik takes his hand. “Yeah, of course.”
He pulls Charles to his feet. Charles stumbles and his legs buckle. Erik cries his name and dives to catch him, and Charles is dead weight for a moment as he clearly struggles not to pass out a second time.
Once Charles has come back to himself enough that he can talk again, Erik leads him over to one of the patio benches. I follow them, feeling like the awkward third wheel. Or, I guess I’m the fifth wheel in the ‘Gossip Team’ that Hank, Raven, Alex, and I have all created.
Erik places a hand on Charles’ knee. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“You’re not gonna pass out again?”
Charles shakes his head and rubs at his eyes.
Erik smacks him hard in the arm. “Then what the FUCK were you thinking?”
Charles flinches. “What?”
“God, you’re such an idiot! I was having a wonderful time making my lunch that I was really fucking excited about, by the way,” Erik talks with his hands, swinging them around everywhere as if to help prove his point, “and then I get a call from Sean saying that you randomly passed out in the middle of the yard and I run over here, expecting the worst, like you’ve been fucking shot or something, but NO!” The set of table and chairs nearby which is made of– oh shit, metal– shudders, letting out a deep, dangerous rumble. “You’re just an idiot, an idiot that I have to deal with! The amount of anxiety that I have over you is gonna kill me at some point, I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to start taking fucking blood pressure medication or some shit all because you can’t help but be curious about something as stupid as,” he mimics Charles’ accent, “oh, I wonder how far I can stretch the limits of my telepathy. And you know me, I’m all about testing the limits of your powers, but in a controlled environment with parameters, not acting on a bullshit intrusive thought that says you should try and read the minds of every single person in New York. Oh, yeah, and almost kill your boyfriend in the process with– !”
“Okay!” Charles tosses his hands in the air. “Okay, I get it. I won’t do it again.”
The table and chairs stop vibrating.
I’m lucky they’re not looking at me because I can’t hold back the cheeky smile now. Boyfriend. He did it, he said the thing! It’s not even about worrying over Charles anymore. Now it’s just watching Erik, who happens to be a super-powered mutant, chastise him. This is more amusing than the entirety of most sitcoms.
Erik stares at Charles’ embarrassed face for a few seconds before he grits his teeth. In one swift movement, he zips forward, plants a quick kiss on Charles’ lips, and crushes him in a tight, violent hug. “Don’t scare me like that again, please.”
Charles returns the hug somewhat awkwardly with the position they’re both in. “I’m sorry.”
Erik pulls away, taking a deep breath. “No, you don’t have to apologize, it’s…” He freezes, rethinking his words. “Actually, I appreciate that. Thank you.”
Charles nods. “I really am sorry though. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“And yet you manage to every goddamn time.”
“I know, and I’m…” Charles considers his response, “an idiot. Yeah, you’re right.”
Erik gestures to him with both hands. “Thank you. I was wondering how long it would take for you to actually own up to it.”
Charles presses his lips together, fixating on the ground. “Yep.”
“Anyway, if you’re done giving me a heart attack, I’m gonna go finish my lunch. Do you want something?”
“What are you making?”
“Paninis. Steak and cheddar specifically.”
Charles shrugs. “I’m all right. Thank you.”
I pipe up. “Can you make me one?”
Erik quirks an eyebrow at me.
“Please?”
“Fine. Same thing?”
“Yes, please. Thanks.”
Erik gives me a thumbs-up and gets up to head back inside. Before he moves too far away, he leans in to address Charles again. “By the way, you may be an idiot, but where it counts, you’re also a very sexy idiot.”
A sheepish smile pulls at Charles’ cheeks as Erik heads back inside.
Charles finally notices that I’m still standing there, and I cross my arms with a stupid, teasing grin on my face.
Charles scoffs. “Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“But you thought it. Shit, does everybody know now?”
“In what world do you guys think you’re being subtle?”
Charles gives me a sidelong glance, chuckling as he gets to his feet. “Breathe not a word of this to anyone, Sean.”
When he departs and I’m alone in the yard, I recover my phone from the grass. The first thing I do is go into the group chat that I have with the rest of the team and type up a essay-length text, explaining every single detail of what just happened.
Charles is a fool if he thinks I’m gonna stay quiet. Or, an idiot apparently, according to Erik. But they should know by now that despite the size of the mansion, word in here travels faster than light. And I’m happy to nudge it along.