"Why was Ruth in your bed?"
Scott tripped, dropping his plate onto the floor as he fell to the ground, his glasses nearly falling off. He groaned, apologizing to the waiter who rushed to help him clean it up.
He turned to look at Peter, glaring. "What?"
Peter shrugged, taking a sip of his orange juice. "I snuck into your room to pour water over you, but I found Ruth there. I was gonna pour it over both of you because Ruth really isn't that special, but then I remembered she could burn my things, so I decided not to."
"Smart decision," Ruth said, carrying a plate of cinnamon pancakes and a chocolate muffin, "I couldn't sleep, so I went into Scott's room."
Hank made a face. "You two seem to be taking this relationship pretty fast."
Ruth frowned shaking her head. "It wasn't like that. I just get scared. I told you this already, or at least I told Raven, I wasn't allowed to watch the news after a while because I kept thinking there were ghosts and murderers in my house."
Hank looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry. That sounds really sad."
She nodded simply. "It was. But, I mean, my parents were okay with it sometimes. I would sneak into Lionel's room sometimes if I got too freaked out. So nothing's really new."
Jubilee gasped, waving her hands. "Ruth! I'm going to show everyone around to my favorite places and stuff, you should show us yours! I mean, you don't have to show us everything, but at least help me show them around the mall. And I wanna meet this Lionel guy."
Ruth's heart stopped. She had taken a bite of her pancakes as Jubilee was talking and tried not to choke on them. She chewed slowly, the taste going sour. She swallowed thickly, coughing. She nodded quickly, hoping that she could later argue that it was just her coughing if they tried to get her to introduce him.
"While I am interested to see where you grew up, Jubilee, don't you think we should be focusing on the mission?" Kurt was in his camouflaged state, taking a bite out of the pancakes that Ruth and Jubilee insisted he try.
"No," Charles said, answering for Jubilee, "We had all talked it out earlier and we have decided that today will mostly be getting situated with the city. Hank, Erik, Alex, Raven, and I will see what we can find out about the lab and see how we can get in and try to find out more about Warren. In the meantime, you all are just going to enjoy yourselves."
Ruth wasn't so sure she would enjoy herself all that much.
º º º º º
It came as no surprise to anyone that Jubilee's first and main stop was the mall.
She seemed to take them into every store in the mall, looking at things and telling stories about what she and her best friend used to do there. She wouldn't take them into certain stores, but she always had a story as to why.
"Ruth, what stores did you and Lionel like to go to?" Jean asked, looking at a shirt in the mirror.
Ruth tensed up and shrugged. "We liked to go to the arcade. We didn't really come here much other than to try to find you."
Jubilee smiled. "I'm flattered. Well then, let's go to the arcade!"
"What's an arcade?"
Peter fell to the ground and Scott gasped. Jubilee looked sadly at Kurt while the other three girls just stared at the scene in faint amusement and great embarrassment.
"Let's speed walk," Jean offered, stopping Peter before he grabbed Kurt's hand and raced him to the arcade; not that he would know where it was, but it wouldn't take long for him to find out.
The group sped-walked, ignoring the odd and amused looks they were receiving. A bunch of teenagers speed walking never looked innocent.
"Adults don't trust teenagers because they know all the stupid shit they did when they were young," Lionel said, spinning around a pillar, "That, or they're just stupid and really think they're better than us."
Ruth walked behind the group, not interested in being in the mall in general, and stopped when she heard a familiar accented lilt.
"Is that Ruth Dakin?"
She nearly froze, but forced herself to keep up with the group, her heart racing. She had to calm down, her wings couldn't show up, not now, not here. She shouldn't even be here.
There were fast footsteps and she prayed they were just other people at the mall. Prayers weren't always answered.
"I can't tell." This voice sounded strained and warped, as if something had happened that had changed the once charming voice into something raspy and painful.
"It can't be," another voice said, full of disbelief and malice, "She wouldn't come back. She couldn't come back, she was locked up, remember?"
"Yeah, but who's that then?" Ruth's heart ached; her cute boy from biology class was gone, replaced with the boy who called her a freak of nature.
Ruth couldn't hear the last part since Peter had grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the arcade. It was loud in the arcade and dark, flashing lights all around.
Jubilee, taking charge once again, dispersed everyone, calling dibs on Kurt, pulling Ororo with them. Jean pulled Scott towards some games, saying that they would be unstoppable considering their accuracy.
"Buddies?" Peter asked, motioning towards a game.
Ruth smiled up at him and nodded. She followed the significantly older man towards the Ms. Pac-Man game, laughing to herself at the sight of it.
"I've been meaning to ask you," she said as they waited for the person in front of them to finish, "Did you steal that Ms. Pac-Man game in your room?"
He looked down at her, confused. "How'd you know I had one in my room?"
She stared up at him, eyes wide; she thought he knew. "They didn't tell you? I stayed at your mom's while I was in exile. I stayed in your room."
He nodded. "Oh. Well, yeah, it's not like we could afford most of the stuff we had, especially my stuff. I stole all my clothes and stuff. Mom worked three jobs."
The two walked forward and Ruth stared up at him, not liking the sad look on his face. "She misses you," she blurted out, "Your mom. I talked to her. She doesn't think you miss her much, but she really wants to see you again."
He looked surprised. He seemed to look through her, his eyes glassy and distant. Ruth wasn't so sure if she said the right thing or not.
"Peter? Are you okay?" She waved her hand in front of his face.
He nodded, blinking. "Yeah, I'm fine. You want the first round?" He waved her onto the stool, leaning against the side, watching.
She started up the game, slowly falling into the same easy rhythm she had had back when she played on his console. Her mind wandered to Lionel who was never good at arcade games, but always tried either way.
"I'm a disappointment. I am literally throwing money at my oppressors!" Lionel cried, putting another quarter into the machine, Ruth giggling next to him.
"Do you think she's here?"
Ruth's hand jerked and she ran right into the ghost she was running away from. She groaned, hopping down from the stool, looking at Peter who took her spot.
"What's wrong?" he asked, barely glancing at her as she started to play.
She cleared her throat. "Nothing, it's fine."
She watched him play for a few more minutes, gasping whenever she thought he was about to get caught, listening out for the voices. She figured they had disappeared. She cackled as Peter ran right into a ghost, pushing him off the stool.
She was about to switch places with him when a hand clamped on her shoulder roughly.
"Wha—"
She yelped, being thrown roughly on the ground. She instinctively shielded her head in her arms, curling into a ball, a scream caught in her throat. Even though it had been a few months, the feeling of being shoved on the ground still lingered in her mind.
"What the fuck, dude?" Peter demanded. The arcade had grown still, everyone stopping to see what was going on, only the faint sound of the games to be heard.
"Back off, man, this has nothing to do with you." It was the warped voice; David Johnson.
"She's my friend, so yeah, this has everything to do with me," Peter said, shoving David.
A harsh laugh; Keith Lewis. "Friend? This freak doesn't have friends."
Ruth felt anger surge in her and tried to tamp down the fire. If she exploded in here, her life would be over. She looked up to see the three boys glaring down at her. She locked eyes with him. The cute boy from biology. The boy who called her a freak of nature.
"Adrien," she whispered.
"Don't talk to me," he spat. He kicked her back, where her wings usually resided, causing her to scream. She felt tears prick at the edge of her eyes, feeling the familiar ache in her back.
"Hey!"
Ruth inwardly cursed; Scott. She looked up to see Scott push his way through the crowd, shoving Adrien into Keith. Jubilee, Jean, Kurt, and Ororo stood nearby, getting to ready to fight if necessary.
"Who are you guys?" David demanded, looking at all of them.
"They're freaks, just like her," Keith spat, shoving Scott.
Scott froze, his voice eerily calm. "What did you call us?"
"You heard me, you freak!" Keith shouted. He turned to address the crowd. "They're mutants! They're freaks!"
Ruth jumped to her feet in time to see Scott punch Keith in the face. This wasn't going to end well.
Keith growled and jumped at Scott, tackling him to the ground, punching him over and over. Ruth rushed to shove him off, but was pulled back by Adrien. She kicked his legs, trying to break free. She screamed, thrashing around violently.
The others rushed to help. Jean grabbed Scott's sunglasses to keep them from breaking, punching Keith who tried to grab her, only to have Ororo kick his chest back, sending him flying to the ground, hitting a machine.
Peter and David were fighting, Peter using his speed to get the upper hand, quickly dodging David's punches and sending his own ten times as fast. He had his fight handled, but it was sickening to watch a grown man fight a young teenager, especially a grown man with powers and a teenager with a messed up voice.
Kurt and Jubilee were trying to help Ruth who was still caught by Adrien. Jubilee shot fireworks by his eyes and Kurt kicked and punched, trying not to hurt Adrien too much. Ruth kept thrashing, becoming more agitated by the second.
Scott had his glasses back on and was working with Jean to fend off Keith. The two were on the defensive, blocking his punches but never making any of their own. That was the type of reaction people had when they've been on the losing end of fights too many times.
That set Ruth off.
She kicked Adrian's leg hard to enough to let her break free. She let her anger consume her, her hair and hands igniting, her entire fists on fire. "Enough!"
Time seemed to still. People were frozen in fear, afraid that even the slightest movement might have them charred on the spot. No one stepped forward, but no one stepped back either.
Ruth was angry. So angry. Her entire body was overheating and every guilt-ridden memory, even anger filled thought seemed to pour out of her body into the flames that threatened to burn everyone in the room.
"I didn't come back to terrorize you," she screamed, whirling around to look at the three boys.
They cowered in fear, Keith shouting, "Well, you are!"
"You started it!" She drew right close to his face, making him fall to his knees, shaking. She drew back. "You were the one that pushed me to the edge at school! I didn't mean to hurt everyone! I didn't mean to, but you pushed me! I didn't know I had this and I couldn't control it, but you still thought it was a good idea to shove me around again!" Her voice was getting hoarse from shrieking.
"Ruth," Scott whispered. She could hear Lionel's voice behind him, a ghost of a whisper.
"Shut up, Scott!" she screamed, "You don't know what I did, you don't know! You don't know what they've put me through! You don't know what happened!"
"Ruth, please calm down," he begged, looking at the others. Lionel's voice was more desperate, more afraid.
She fell to her knees, her head dangerously close to the ground. "Don't say that! Don't say that, don't say that!"
"She's crazy!" Adrien exclaimed.
Ruth brought her fist too close to his face, so close that it was starting to hurt. She grit her teeth, her voice low and shaking. "Say that again. I dare you. Say it again."
Adrien was mumbling in German, tears running down his cheeks, his blue eyes terrified. Just like before. Everything was just like before.
"Ruth," Jean said, reaching into her mind, "Focus on my voice. Find some peace. If not peace, find an anchor. Anything. Scott. Me. The team. Your friend, Lionel."
Ruth sobered instantly. It was as if something clicked in her mind, something that made the anger vanish. She searched, but there wasn't a single trace. She wondered what Jean had done. She backed away from Adrien who was still crying, looking at the other three boys.
"Police! Come out with your hands up!"
That set everyone off. People were running out or to the back of the room, screaming and yelling. The three boys ran straight for the door, shouting that they had someone who had probably escaped from prison.
"Jean," Scott said, turning to her.
He had a slowly forming bruise on his cheek and his lip was bleeding. No one else looked much better. Ruth caused all of that.
Jean placed a hand to her temple, concentrating. She nodded and the group made their way to the front, walking out and into the open, the police still shouting for them to come out.
Kurt grabbed a hold of all of them and bamfed them a few blocks away, far away from the scene. They continued to walk, pretending that none of that ever happened.
º º º º º
"What were you thinking, Ruth?" Charles demanded as they sat in the diner for lunch.
Ruth picked at her food. "I wasn't really thinking, I was just kind of reverting."
"Reverting to what?" He had never yelled at her before and it was really hurtful. Thankfully, he had blocked out their conversation so no one else could hear it, not even the other mutants sitting right by them.
"To the me that always got jumped." She glared at him. "To the me that needed to stay alive and got really angry because she's always getting shoved to the ground."
Charles softened slightly, but he still looked agitated. "Ruth, I understand you were upset, but you can't go around fighting people that make you angry."
"It's not like I asked for it," she snapped, "I didn't ask Scott to shove the guy, it's not like I asked for help. And I didn't ask to get angry, I didn't want to." Her voice grew quiet, tired. "I didn't mean to. People always think I do, but I don't. I don't meant to do anything mean."
Charles pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. "Alright. Okay, well, Erik and I are going to go down to the station where all the witnesses are. I'm going to wipe your memories. You all are going to stay out of sight. Don't pick another fight."
She nodded. "Okay."
Charles turned to look at the others. "Erik, you have to drive me to the police station, I will explain on the way. We're going to have to postpone our debriefing until we sort this problem out. Jubilee, Ruth, is there any place you all can go where no one will notice you? Anything you have to get?"
Jubilee opened her mouth, but Ruth beat her to it. "I know a place. Can I buy flowers first?"
º º º º º
Ruth held the bouquet in her hands. Tea Roses, Yellow Roses, Dark Red Roses, Blue Roses, and Black Roses.
She led the group silently, her tongue made of lead. She couldn't talk to them and they didn't seem to want to talk to her. She could live with that.
There was tension, but it wasn't angry. It was sad. Worried.
Ruth walked through the gate, making her way down the brown path, looking at the grass that was ironically green and bright.
She made a right and carefully trekked through the mocking grass, stopping abruptly, her knees buckling.
"Ruth," Jubilee said, "Why are we here?"
Ruth stared at the headstone. "You said you wanted to meet Lionel."
a/n ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JULY 21, 2016 BUT UPDATED TO CHANGE THE GIF UP TOP
so...that happened. The not-so-secret secret is out. Ruth had a little meltdown. That...all...happened
I wish this chapter would have come out better but I think the eclectic nature of this chapter is kind of how Ruth feels—like the shorter sections towards the end and the quick changes in tone—so it works out well.
I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be...interesting.