「 The Professor & I 」Charles Xavier Love Story

(20) Raven

Lynn's POV

Dinner was particularly quiet tonight. There were absolutely no conversations and Charles was no longer slicing up my food now that I could well handle them myself.

After the awkwardly silent meal, all of us returned to our rooms to prepare ourselves. We were heading to war in the morning.

I took a shower and slipped into my night gown before I got into bed. I laid down but something was preventing me from falling asleep. I had an awfully bad feeling my nightmare was going to come true tomorrow, and I still had not devised a plan to save Charles.

Annoyed by my incompetence, I hopped out of bed and stood by my window, meticulously counting the stars when I heard a knock on my door. The next moment, it clicked open and I turned to see Raven in her blue form but without any clothing.

"Can I come in?" She asked as she stood in the doorway.

"Of course, you can," I answered, wondering what she was thinking asking that. She usually just barged in on her own.

"You're alright with me? Looking like this?" She asked hesitantly as she closed the door behind her.

"Have I ever complained about your appearance?" I questioned her in disbelief as we took our seats on the two armchairs in a corner of my room. "What's wrong with you today?"

"I'm sorry, it's just-" she started then paused as if to formulate her lines.

"Three out of three men have annoyed me today and it's frustrating!" She continued but stopped again, her face locked in deep thought.

"So are you going to tell me about it?" I asked impatiently after some silence. We never had to wait for such prompts to spill what was on our minds.

"Hank came to my room tonight with a cure. One he said would normalize our appearance. He wanted us to take it together but I refused. That's not what I want anymore... I think," she said with a bit of doubt. "He said I looked beautiful like this," she transformed into her human self. "That's all he saw. But Erik... He saw me for this," Raven transforms back into her blue skin. "When no one else did," she continued.

"What do you mean? Charles and I did," I interrupted to remind her.

"Charles," she scorned. "He threatened to read my mind."

"What? That's not possible. Charles would never-" Raven didn't let me finish.

"He would never do it to you," she retorted. "I showed up like this to the kitchen and he told me to put on some clothes. That wasn't what he said when he first saw me," she scoffed.

"He said that he never had to use his powers to know what I was thinking before. The truth is, he never knew what I was thinking. He only thought he did," Raven explained in resentment. "Do you remember what happened in Oxford? When I asked him to date us?" I nodded, recalling that dreadful night. "He's afraid. He wants to blend in. No matter how bad this world is, he doesn't want to be against it. He wants to be a part of it. He doesn't want to be different," Raven stated.

"Raven, Charles only means well. He just wants the best for us," I said in his defense and slipped my hands over to hers.

"What's best in his eyes is not best mine!" She countered agitatedly, forcefully retracting her palms away from me.

"Erik showed me that if I was always concentrating on looking normal and blending in, I would never get anything done. There is no hiding with him," she said to me and I saw true sincerity in her eyes. She really believed in Erik.

"Erik only knew me this long but he accepts me for who I really am. I've grown up with Charles my whole life, and yet he can't," she grumbled and sighed deeply.