Cassidy's P.O.V.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
The alarm I had set last night to make sure I wouldn't be late for the training session went off. I groaned and looked at the clock which was flashing 6 AM in bright red numbers. Before I could get up and put an end to the annoying beeping noise, I heard it being shoved off the table. The clock fell off my nightstand, causing me to immediately sit up to see who had pushed it, only to be pulled back down by Warren.
"Can we just stay like this for a little while longer?" He asked, his voice still a bit sleepy
Once I realized that it was him who pushed my alarm clock, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" He asked, raising an eyebrow
"Nothing," I said, shaking my head with a smile on my face. "We need to get up if we want to make it to the session on time," I changed the subject
Warren sighed and reluctantly let go of me. I stretched my arms out and sat up, trying to shake off my tiredness. I quickly went to the bathroom and changed into some athletic clothing. Uncle X said that he had ordered new training gear that was supposed to arrive today which meant that Warren, Kurt, and I would get a suit like the rest of the X-men. But until our suits arrived in the training facility, our sporty clothes had to do. I neatly pulled my hair back in a high ponytail and put on my sneakers. When I came out, Warren was dressed in what looked to be Scott's casual athletic clothing which he wore when training outside the facility.
"Did Scott give you that?" I asked
Warren just gave a curt nod in response.
"We really need to go shopping to get you some clothes of your own," I said, feeling slightly guilty for not thinking of doing it sooner.
Again, Warren just nodded. I had noticed that Warren wasn't into talking and sometimes I wondered if I was annoying him, but he hadn't said anything about it yet. I figured that if Warren wanted me to stop rambling, he'd tell me.
"You alright over there?" He asked, taking a step towards me
"Yeah, just thinking" I replied, putting a smile on my face "Alright, we better get going," I said, hoping that he wouldn't ask any more questions.
After all, Warren had told me to stop worrying about bothering him multiple times, so it was probably best if I did just that.
We made our way towards the door and he held it open for me. As we stepped out into the hallway, we noticed that the rest of the X-men were heading towards the training center too. Well, everyone except Peter. I was starting to get a bit concerned because Wolverine hated it when people were late. Peter did have quite a long night and was probably very hungover.
As we were walking towards the training center, everyone was talking about how excited they were to start training again. The whole time, Jean wouldn't stop quizzing me on the moves that I had practiced with the group yesterday. So far, I had gotten all of her questions correct and everyone was totally convinced that I would do great.
When we finally made it to the training center, Uncle X was standing by the door, waiting for us to arrive so he could hand us each our new training suits. As soon as everyone received their suit, we hurried off to our separate changing rooms. I was so excited to finally put on a training suit again after such a long time. Once I had finished getting dressed, Jubilee and Jean beamed at me and complimented my look. I will admit, I really liked the way the suit looked on me, but then again, both Jean and Jubilee looked equally as stunning.
When we came out into the arena, the boys were already there and dressed. Jubilee suggested that the girls do a little fashion show to show off our new training suits and everyone agreed. Jubilee came out first and the boys clapped and cheered for her. Next was Jean, and Scott was wide-eyed with his mouth agape when she came out. I was actually a bit nervous about my turn, especially going after Jean and Jubilee who are two gorgeous girls. I slowly walked out and struck a pose, hearing Warren whistle while the others clapped as well. I'm pretty sure I was blushing bright red when I finished and stood next to him.
"Someone looks hot in their new suit" Warren whispered in my ear, smirking
I looked up at him and he winked at me. Warren's non-stop flirting was starting to make me have an even bigger crush on him.
"You look pretty good yourself" I smiled back
Then, Wolverine and Mystique walked in and gave us a curt head nod to signal their approval of our new training suits.
"Where's Peter?" Wolverine asked, his eyebrows furrowed
We all shrugged and Mystique shook her head in annoyance "Well, I guess we'll get started then-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Peter rushed in and hurried off to the changing room to put on his new suit.
"Let's all wait for Peter to put his suit on before we begin," Mystique said sarcastically as she glared at the door he went through
We all stood there, waiting for a few minutes until Peter finally came out, dressed in his new suit.
"You're late, Maximoff," Wolverine said sternly
Peter just shook his head and rubbed his forehead, probably trying to soothe the massive headache he had from the night before.
Mystique pressed a button and the dome roof of the arena split in half to reveal the clear blue sky.
"Today will be a bit of a review on dodging attacks. I noticed that we have some new team members, so to start easy you'll each take on one of our attack droids." Mystique instructed our group
"Remember, these droids are no joke and will strike you if you don't block it. If you blank out or forget your training, then you better hope that your teammate is there to save your ass" Wolverine added
"Don't forget that you have powers. Use them to your advantage. Once you and your partner each successfully dodge 5 attacks, the robot will power down" Mystique said
I know that Mystique didn't say to use our powers to be mean. After all, she's known me ever since I was a baby, but it still stung a bit. Since I didn't have powers I was hoping I would get a good teammate. And if not, I would just have to remember everything that Jean and the others had taught me yesterday.
"To make it interesting, I will choose your partners," Wolverine said "Scott and Jean. Jubilee and Kurt. Hmm, it looks like we'll have a group of three. Cassidy, Peter, and Warren"
I was glad that I had Warren in my group because of his experience in cage fighting. He was used to dodging attacks from his opponents. But Peter seemed out of it. I just hoped that he would pull himself together enough to get through training.
"This is all about teamwork and learning to trust your partner. Remember, work together. Scott and Jean you're up first." Mystique said, motioning for us to step back while Scott and Jean took a step forward.
Jean used her telepathic ability to her advantage as she and Scott moved in perfect sync. Their teamwork was great and in no time, they had both dodged five attacks from the robot. The robot started to power down and Jean and Scott shared a high five.
"That was great. Good cohesive teamwork. Next up, Jubilee and Kurt" Wolverine said, giving Scott a firm pat on the back
Jubilee started off by yelling commands at Kurt who would listen and then act accordingly. Their teamwork was pretty good, but not as perfect as Jean and Scotts. Soon, Jubilee realized that Kurt had it under control and she started focusing on herself. Their teamwork got better as more time went on and they had completed the task in no time. Yet again, the robot shut down.
"Work on the communication, Jubilee. And Kurt, try to take charge a bit more. But other than that, good job." Mystique said, giving them a nod of approval.
The moment I had been dreading finally arrived. It was Warren, Peter, and I's turn. Just as we were about to step up, Peter whispered in my ear, "Hey, can we talk?"
"I don't think now is the best time," I said, noticing that the robot was starting to boot up.
Warren then put his hand on my back and led me towards the middle of the arena
"Don't worry, Cassidy. I've got your back" Warren said loudly enough for Peter to hear
Peter just scoffed and got in a fighting stance. Warren and I did the same as the robot powered up.
Just as I had thought, Peter was struggling to dodge the robot attack. For someone with superspeed, this task should have been easy, but it was the opposite for Peter. Luckily, I remembered all of my training and had already dodged 5 attacks.
"Great job, Cassidy! Keep going!" Wolverine yelled in encouragement
Warren had adapted to his metal wings quickly and they were serving him well. We made a great team. Now we were just waiting on Peter. Warren and I were trying to help him, but he refused to listen to us.
"Oi, come on then! We can't stay here all day! If you're not going to listen to me and Cassidy, get out of the arena!" Warren yelled, frustrated by Peter's behavior.
Peter whipped around quickly and yelled right back at Warren "If you tell me what to do one more time, I swear to god-"
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The robot was gearing up to strike Peter from behind. Before I knew what I was doing, I was running towards Peter at full speed. I pushed Peter out of the way and was about to get the full force of the blow from the robot. I heard Peter scream my name, but I didn't care. The last thing I wanted was for Peter to get hurt. I would sacrifice myself for him any day, that's what best friends do. I braced myself and shut my eyes tightly, but nothing ever came.
When I finally opened my eyes, Warren had his arms wrapped around me and we were up in the air, his metal wings flapping, to keep us above ground. He threw metal spikes at the robot and hit it straight in the power switch. The robot-powered down immediately.
Peter's eyes were wide open as fear and regret flashed across his face.
"Cassidy-" He started, trying to apologize
"You've done enough, Maximoff!" Wolverine barked "Training is done for the day. We'll resume tomorrow"
"That means - GO!" Mystique yelled
Everyone rushed to the changing rooms to get dressed back in their clothes, and on the way there, Peter looked back at me and mouthed the word "sorry".
During the whole thing, I was pulled up against Warrens's chest with his arms wrapped around me.
"I've got you, Cassidy. It's ok." He whispered as he flew us back down
"You alright?" Mystique asked me
"Yeah," I said, still a bit breathless
"Nice save, Warren," Wolverine said, giving him a pat on the back
"Anything for Cassidy," Warren said with a slight nod
He still hadn't let go of me even though we were safe and back on the ground.
"You guys are free to go now," Mystique said, gesturing for us to go change
Warren hesitantly let me go and we headed into our separate changing rooms
When I went back into the changing room, both girls had already left. I was kind of glad that I didn't have to hear them asking if I was ok. When I came out, Warren wasn't there yet so I decided to wait for him. When I went outside, Peter was waiting for me with tears in his eyes.
"Cassidy, oh God, are you ok?" He asked, rushing up and engulfing me in a hug
"I'm fine, Peter," I replied, stiffening up
"I'm so sorry. Will you ever forgive me?" He asked, pulling back from the hug and cupping my cheek.
"We all make mistakes, of course I'll forgive you." I paused "What happened to us, Peter? We used to be so close...and now, I feel like we're just not anymore."
There was nothing but deafening silence as a response
"D-did I do something wrong?" I asked, tears starting to form in my eyes
Peter's friendship was not something I was willing to lose over anything.
"No, no, Cassidy. You haven't done anything. You're perfect." He said reassuringly
"Why did you get drunk last night? You only drink when you're stressed."
He took a deep breath, "I just can't stand you being around Warren. I know it's selfish, but I want you all to myself. I don't want to share you with some cage-fighting jerk"
What he said made me question if the "I love you" last night wasn't just because he was drunk. Maybe he was expressing how he actually felt about me.
"P-Peter, do you remember what you told me last night?" I asked, uncertainty in my voice
"umm...?" He said as he awkwardly rubbed his neck
"Did you really mean that?"
Before he could answer, Warren came out and put an arm around my waist gently, and started trying to lead me away.
"Warren, please wait," I said, wanting to finish my conversation with Peter
"He's done enough to you, Cassidy. Let's go" He shook his head, glaring at Peter
Peter then suddenly used his superspeed to block our path.
Warren's eyes narrowed and he snarled "What do you think would have happened if I hadn't saved Cassidy. The robot would have attacked her full force. She would be severely wounded, because of YOU. Leave us alone before you make it worse. If you EVER, let anything happen to her again, I will personally smash your face in. All rules are off, just you and me."
For once, Peter backed down, "If you want to talk, you know where to find me. If not, we can both pretend this never happened. I'll try to go back to the way things were before HE showed up."
On the way back to his room, Peter intentionally bumped into Warren's shoulder.
I had never seen this side of Peter before. It was honestly starting to scare me. I don't know how much more tension either of the boys could take before one of them snapped. And I was pretty sure that it would be me that would get hurt in the process.
A/N:
I hope that you guys enjoyed Chapter 12 of Archangel! It's officially summer so that means I have some more time to write. Also of you enjoy my style of writing be sure to check out my Red Queen series. Feel free to vote, and have a great day : )
- edited 5/23/20 -