Attic: Kitty, Jubilee, Jean and Rouge stand outside of Ororo's door:
"Someone has to say something" Kitty hissed "She's been in there for 2 days now, and the only time she comes out is at night when everyone's asleep" Jubilee shrugged
"I brought comfort food" she said referring to the bag of snacks she held in her hands. Rouge twisted her lip
"She don't need no food right now she needs her friends" Jean shook her head in agreement
"Rouge's right Storm is very fragile right now." Kitty frowned
"I am so gonna kick Logan's ass for this. Something told me to keep them from hooking up."
"You can't control what people do Kitty if they liked each other it would have happened eventually" Jubilee pointed out.
"Look are we gonna help Storm or stand out here and point blame" Rouge said pushing past them until she stood squarely in front of the attic door.
"I say we blame" Kitty said stubbornly.
Inside Ororo's Room:
Ororo sighed at the sound of her friends bickering with one another out side her door way. Storm wanted to be alone. It was nice to see that they cared so much, but now was not the time for "comfort food". Was nothing sacred? Storm pressed herself farther under the sheets of her bed in hopes that the four women would migrate back downstairs. They didn't. Rouge tapped on the door a few times and when she received no answer popped the lock open as if it were a discarded piece of paper.....damn her and her powers. Storm bit her lip hoping that they would think she was asleep....
"Wake up sleepy head!" Jubilee's cheerful voice rang out and a bright light pierced it's way through the fine spaces of Storm's sheets once Jubilee had opened a curtain. Storm groaned.
"Come on Ro' it's like a new day....start it right for god sake" Kitty rolled her eyes and pealed the sheets from over Storms head. Ororo sat up abruptly her eyes wide open and her usually silk like curly hair tangled into an awful mess on top of her head. Rouge twisted her lip
"Ah Storm sugah you look----"
"awful" Jean finished her sentence. Storm looked to Jean an icy scorn in her eyes. She wasn't proud that a part of her looked for some flaw in the red head, a reason for her to be angry with her....but there wasn't. No matter how much she wanted to be angry with Jean she couldn't be it wasn't her fault it was ------his. She refused to think the name.
"I'm sorry about what happened. Do you hate me?" Jean asked her hands clamped together. After a moment of silence Storm broke the apparent tension with a soft smile
"Of course not Jean that was never even an issue" Jean smiled thankfully and sat beside her friend and embraced her in a warm hug. Jubilee smiled happy to see the relationship on going and climbed on the bed beside them
"Do you hate me too" she asked unnecessarily. Storm smiled and looked to her
"No I am not angry with any of you....I'm just happy to have you all as my friends" Kitty pushed away a tear in her eye
"This is like so corny but I'm sorry too" she climbed in beside them and joined in on the group hug....Rouge wasn't to far behind. In the midst of everything Storm felt her frustration somewhat melt away but the pain still remained.
"Ok now your smooshing me" Jubilee's muffled voice broke the moment and they all laughed as they separated.
"You alright sugah we've been worried about yah?" Rouge said opening a bag of potato chips.
"I'll live" Storm moaned swinging her bare legs of the bed. "Are yah sure two day's is a long time to be mopin'" Storm nodded her head
"I'm sure---I just needed some time to think" Kitty crossed her arms
"AAAAnnndd" Storm looked to her confused
"What"
"Are you going to stay with Logan or not?" Rouge plucked Kitty on the ear for her blunt question
"Hey you guys know you wanted to ask". There was Silence. Storm took a deep breath standing from the bed but not before grabbing the bag of gummy bears from Jean who couldn't quite get to bag to open.
"We just want you to be ok...Storm. Sulking is not healthy. You've got to move past every things that's happened and start fresh.....forget about what's his face for a while maybe even forever and start over" Jubilee said cramming a powdered donut into her mouth. Storm shook her head
"Ironically enough I agree with you Jubilee. I shouldn't burden you all simply because I'm having a bad couple of days.----I need change" Kitty smiled and jumped to her feet
"Good for you Storm way to look on the bright side....Your young, beautiful, smart, and funny there is no doubt that you'd find someone else like that" She snapped her fingers. Ororo considered telling them that she meant change as in leaving the mansion for good....she needed space. Charles Xavier had been good to her for many years, but it was time to branch out and explore other possibilities....maybe she'd go back to Kenya visit some of the remaining tribe...or maybe even take Remy up on his offer to go down the New Orleans for a while to take a trip down memory lane.
It all sounded so amazing in theory, but leaving would be harder then she thought. Of course she wasn't running away.... at least not from Logan.....he was a non issue at the moment. The disaster with the man she had shared everything with for the past 1 ½ years had made her realize that she was hanging on to things that weren't there....Could she really be an X-men forever? As second in command she was expected to e strong and stay with the team no matter what. She couldn't do that any longer...she needed a new life. Meet other people....meet other men, fall in love, have children. It had been an unfulfilled dream for the past 8 years. In all honesty now looking back Storm never really saw her relationship with Logan going any place concrete....there was always something standing in the way....his past....his lust for Jean...His enemies. That wasn't her problem anymore. Her decision to leave was not yet conclusive she would still have to discuss it with the Professor, Scott and the other's all except Logan. They would try to talk her out of it she knew, but she was pretty sure that her decision was firm. It was time to leave.
Storm looked to Jean who's green eyes were now filled with tears...had she been listening in on her private thoughts? The look on Jean's face said yes and Storm felt a sinking in her stomach. With a heavy heart Storm tossed her friend the now open bag of gummy bears
"I'll be ok----It was only a matter of time" she said her words meaning two things at one time. Rouge, Jubilee, and Kitty smiled happy to see their friend back on her feet. And Jean cried silently without the attention of the other three with the anticipation of the loss.
~~~ Soon, Next Chapter ~~~
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