No Angels

Chapter 10

"What?" Erik and Heather said at the same time, both shamelessly confused.

"When Heather uses her powers, her soul harmonizes with others and she draws strength from them. Harmonizing allows you to manipulate the astral plane."

Heather stood there in shock, before looking at Charles' joyful face and smiling in disbelief. "We did it. We - we actually did it. We actually solved it." That seemed to awaken Erik. "Well," he said, stepping closer to Heather, "let's see what else you can do."

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Further experimentation revealed that Heather could produce a physical and mental shield. "I can't see you," Charles had gasped the first time she had discovered it, "I mean, I can see you physically but - mentally, I can't read or even locate your mind." The shield wasn't very strong yet or couldn't go very far, but both Erik and Charles told her that it would strengthen over time and with practice.

They didn't stay out very long after the sun set, and once she had returned to her room, practically bouncing from joy, she had quickly changed into her pajamas and got ready to head to bed. But just as she was lying down, the door of her room slammed open and a crying Raven appeared.

Heather sat up quickly in surprise and asked, "Raven? What's wrong?"

Raven's lower lip trembled as she shut the door behind her and came to sit on the bed, and Heather could see her eyes turning yellow. "I don't - I was so stupid, he doesn't believe I'm pretty like that. I thought he understood, I - "

"Raven!" Heather put her hands on the girl's shoulders, shaking her slightly, "What are you talking about?"

"Hank," Raven replied, trying to choke down her tears and calm enough to explain. "He - he came into my room before and he brought a kind of cure for our appearances. I told him not to, that we're perfect the way we are, but - then he said that society would never find my natural form or his feet beautiful." 

Heather felt her heart ache for her friend, who only wanted acceptance, as well as a sudden feeling of anger. "Raven, he's wrong. You're beautiful. Now and in your natural form. And even if society doesn't accept it, you're still probably more beautiful than ninety-nine percent of the human population." Raven let out a wet laugh, before she hesitated and shifted into her blue figure. "Maybe it's just me, but I don't see anything wrong right now," Heather added softly, and Raven, a bright smile lighting up her glum face, pulled her into a tight hug. 

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Afterwards, Raven decided to stay in Heather's room and sleep, too zoned out to even consider moving, though she did laugh and tell Heather that going and yelling at Hank was probably not the best idea. 

Raven fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, but for Heather, it was a different story. No matter how many times she closed her eyes or rolled around and tried to find a comfortable spot, she just couldn't fell asleep. After a while, she sighed and got up, planning to go downstairs and get a drink of water, hoping that it would help her. She quietly headed down the stairs and into the kitchen, wincing when the old wood creaked under her feet.

There, she grabbed a glass from the cabinet and turned on the faucet, pouring herself a drink. She leaned against the counter for a moment or two, sipping the water slowly, before the ringing noise started. Frowning, she set the glass down and pressed her hands against her ears in an attempt to stop the offending noise. But it only seemed to get louder and louder and louder...

Heather suddenly felt very paranoid, an overwhelming feeling that something bad was going to happen, before her stomach somersaulted, and she felt clammy and too warm, then deciding to go outside to try and cool down. 

The outside air felt amazing on her sweaty skin and Heather sat in the slightly damp grass, trying to calm her breathing and paranoia as the ringing sound began to fade into a dull mum. She sat there alone for a few while, enjoying the coolness, when she heard someone clear their throat. "Do you like sneaking up on me or something?" Heather asked with a strained laugh. Erik gave her small smile, before sitting down beside her. "I thought you wanted to get a good night's rest?" He asked teasingly, and Heather sighed, leaning her chin on her knees. "Can't sleep, you?"

"Same," he hummed.

"Are you nervous for tomorrow?"

Erik shrugged. "Not really. I've been waiting for this for a long time." Facing off with Shaw, Heather realized, that's what he's been waiting for. She glanced over at the older man, and for a minute it hit her like a train how much she really cared for him - how much she really cared for all of them. Tomorrow, she could lose them if they weren't strong enough to stop Shaw and that - that was scary thought. She - she couldn't stand the thought of seeing any of them as ghosts. Erik, noticing how silent she had become, glanced over at her and Heather quickly looked away, instead noticing a small, weather worn angel statue in the garden in front of them.

"Heather - "

"Did your parents ever talk to you about angels?"

Erik blinked, obviously shocked by the change of subject - hell, even it shocked Heather herself - but he decided not to press. "Sometimes," he responded slowly, "Angels are - were important to our faith." Heather didn't take her eyes off of the angel. "My dad did too. He always told me that everyone had a guardian angel to watch over us, to protect us. They'd always be by our sides and they'd never let anything happen to you."

She then narrowed her eyes at the cherub faced statue, the taste in her mouth bitter. "But there are no guardian angels, Erik. There are no angels. Just ghosts."

Silence fell over the two like a blanket, before a quiet reply came from Erik, so soft that Heather almost didn't hear it. "Maybe you haven't looked hard enough."