The Islander

[Namacub95]

Emily twisted her fingers nervously in her lap, her clear grey eyes focused on the flier rather than James. She was sure that if she told him the truth he'd think she was insane, bonkers, off her rocker and whatever else that meant she was crazy.

How was she supposed to tell her best friend that she suspected her whole life to be a lie? Had he sensed something when she let him into her mind for the first time? Could he know? If so he didn't act like it and she was pretty certain he would have told her if he had sensed something.

"I..." she began, going to nix the idea but she stopped herself "I'll tell you...if...you tell me what's bothering you. Maybe we can sort both our heads out." her eyes went to James, trying to judge his reaction.

[Kitexa]

Touche, he thought, staring at his friend with an undetermined expression. Eye for an eye, truth for a truth and all that.....

A shame it was easier said than done.


James' gaze shifted down to the medical journal in hand, contemplating his next move. On the one hand, he'd been dying to talk to someone about his father without immediately being shut down. On the other hand, his father was the reason so many things had gone horridly wrong at the Xavier Estate, and even if he'd been played like a puppet, no one else seemed to notice it.

Then again, he WAS the only telepath who'd accidentally....

....."Sorry." He said suddenly "Spaced out." The golden-eyed boy chewed his lip for a moment, then continued. "If I tell you...you have to promise me you'll wait until I've said everything there is to say before placing judgement over me....it's...kind of a taboo topic."

[Namacub95]

"I promise." Emily said "I'll be completely unbiased."

Of course, being open minded with some ideas wasn't that difficult. With everything she had been through it was quite easy for her to listen to whatever James had to say without passing judgement. Besides, what could be so bad that James felt she may shut down as soon as she heard what he had to say? What could be that bad?

Emily didn't know but she would find out soon. Then it would be her turn. She only hoped that she didn't sound as crazy as she thought she sounded sometimes.

"Whatever you need to say. Just say it. I'm open."

[Kitexa]

Hooooboy.....here we go.

"Well," James began, fiddling with the spine of the medical journal, "okay, you know that my dad is Charles Xavier, right? And that my mother is his adopted sister Raven, and everyone here hates him due to what he did fifteen years ago?" He stopped, reminding himself to stay calm and just tell her and if things go awry he can just erase her mind and pretend it didn't happen hope to reason with her....."It turns out....there were a lot of things that went on my mother and uncles weren't aware of..."

[Namacub95]

Emily's eyes widedned slightly, she didn't know what the whole story was with Charles Xavier, James's father, because she thought it rude to pry into buisness that she had no part of. Still, she knew the general gist of what had happened.

"You saw him?" Emily asked after a minute "When? I thought he was with Magneto...how'd you manage to contact him?"

As far as Emily knew, no one had made contact with Charles since he left fifteen years ago. How James managed to find him was beyond her. Still she leant forward and took Jame's hand.

"You read his mind...didn't you?"

[Kitexa]

James nodded, dropping his gaze when he felt her hand around his. "Yeah..." he answered, voice tighter than he'd meant "I did. It was an accident we met up--I was doing some...research and things and I don't know why HE was there but we crossed paths and....." the boy cut himself off, a pained expression glossing over his face "It got messy. Really, really messy."

There was no easy way to say what came next; the horrors Charles Xavier had suffered in silence were not something to blunty state, nor were they to be dragged out and beat around the bush with. It had happened, was STILL happening, and it wasn't his fault.

"Emily...." he continued after some time, raising his eyes again to look at her "....Magneto....he broke my father. Fifteen years....they...." come on, James, say it "they tortured and abused him and FORCED him over to their side. Magneto--Emma--they're the reason he snapped that night and...." teeth ground together "raped my mother. They...." He trailed off. "If you could see what I saw inside his head.....he's more a victim in this than any of us were. He still is."

[Namacub95]

All Emily could do was stare. She'd never expected that when she wanted to know what was going through James's mind.

Charles Xavier was a distant figure to her...she knew relatively little about him in this universe yet the thought of what he had went through made bile rise in her throat.

No one should have to go through that. It was no wonder Charles was a shell of his former self.

"You have to tell your mother." Emily said after a moment of silence, absorbing the information James had just told her "We could help him...if the others knew, they'd understand. We could get him back. Save him."

[Kitexa]

"I can't" The boy replied, hasty and almost a little fearful. "She gets defensive when I ask about him....I don't even know how to begin presenting this to her...." He said back in his chair, running his hand hand slowly through his dark hair. He needed to get his father out of there....but HOW to do it....THAT he didn't know.

"How do I know they'd believe me if I showed them what I saw?" he asked, giving his friend a withering look.

[Namacub95]

"You're not a liar. They'll understand if you tell them, just explain...they'll listen." Emily said softly £I mean...they believed you when you had to explain bout me."

Granted, they had left out the fact that she was over two thousand year old...but what mattered was the fact that everyone had been willing to listen to James in the first place. He was trustworthy. He wouldn't lie to them.

"Trust me, if you explain it to them...they'll listen to you."