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A bead of sweat dripped down my forehead.
Laura hadn't said a word since she casually revealed she knew my alter ego. We had sat the entire class in silence since then.
My foot tapped away at the ground, showcasing my restlessness for anyone that paid attention. My eyes darted back and forth between the clock mounted on the wall and the hot girl that could be a hitman from Fisk, for all I knew.
Tick.
Tock.
I watched the clock as the second hand ticked away, closer, and closer, and closer, and-
Baringgggg~
The bell went off, signaling the end of the class. I grabbed my textbook, shoving it into my bag. Max turned to talk to me, only to watch me jump out of my chair and run out of the room without a word.
"What's up with him?" he spoke, staring at the doorway I just sprinted out of.
I ran down the hall, mind racing as to how anyone could have known who or where I was. It made no sense that Fisk could have found me. I was discreet, efficient, and quiet. Nobody should have even known it was me in the building! I wiped all the goddamn cameras.
As I ran down the corridor, I reached a corner. Turning it, I looked up to see an empty hallway, save for one girl standing in the middle, eyes locked on me.
She had golden hair that fell halfway down her back. Her blue eyes seemed to stare into my soul. She had on a black leather jacket, miniskirt and leggings. Her T-shirt was black, with a white skull and crossbones in the middle. Her eyes were locked firmly on me, an amused smile tugging at her lips.
"...Yeah, no."
I turned around to go back the way I came, only to see another girl standing 5 feet from me.
She had brown hair, save for a few streaks of white in her bangs. She stood at a modest 5'5, staring up at me with what I can only describe as a nervous smile.
She spoke, her voice carrying a southern twinge. "Cole, sugah, calm down a smidge and just listen to us." Her voice was like honey, dripping sweetness. I didn't buy it.
I stared at her for a moment. She seemed to exhale slightly, seemingly relieved I hadn't attacked her. She moved her mouth to speak again, and that's when I jumped into action.
I leapt at the wall, using my feet to kick off of it and jump past her.
As I ran, I turned to yell behind me.
"If this is about his office, tell Fisk it sucks to suck!"
I sprinted through the hall yet again, turning a different corner into a packed hallway. I weaved through students, dodging about 20 collisions in as many seconds. I finally slowed down a bit, looking over my shoulder to check if they were chasing after me. As I did, I felt an impact on my chest, causing me to nearly fall over.
"Ow! What was that for, jerk!?" A girl's voice came from in front of me.
I regained my balance and looked up, to see a girl from some of my classes.
"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going! I'll make it up to you sometime, promise!" I quickly let out, before running off again.
The Girl's POV:
I watched as the guy ran off down the hall, an exasperated sigh leaving my lips.
Typical NewYorker, I thought to myself.
"Hey, what was his deal?" MJ asked, walking over to me.
"Heck if I know." I replied, walking towards my locker with MJ in tow.
"Well, did he at least apologize? Cus if not, that's just ru- Oh." MJ paused as she looked me up and down.
"Rough sleep?" She asked, wincing after looking at my face.
"That obvious?" I replied, chuckling to myself. Waking up at 4am on a rooftop cuddling what I can only assume is a villain's jacket was definitely an experience.
MJ just laughed as she linked her arm in mine and shut my locker for me.
"With those eyebags? Very much so. Let's get some coffee in you, Gwen."
"Sounds like a plan" I grumbled, letting her lead me towards the cafeteria.
Cole's POV:
I burst through the doors of the school, chest heaving as I caught my breath. I walked at a brisk pace down the sidewalk, trying to get as much distance between me and the campus as possible. I ducked into a nearby alley, using a fire escape to climb up to the roof. From there, I began to parkour my way across the block, hopping over gaps and leaping across alleyways.
Finally, about 3 blocks from the school I allowed myself to relax, sitting down on the edge of the building I was on.
I let out a shaky breath, the cold air stinging my lungs. "I think I lost them."
As I spoke, a bright orange light started to shine on the rooftop behind me. I slowly turned around to see what I can only describe as a portal open behind me.
"I didn't lose them."
I watched wide eyed as Laura and the two girls I had seen earlier walked through the portal thingy.
"You know, I already have one stalker. I don't need any more at the time being, so you guys can contact my assistant about rescheduling!" I yelled as the portal closed, my eyes darting around for an escape route.
"Us? Stalking you? You wish." The blonde I had seen in the hallway earlier chuckled as she spoke a slight Russian accent audible in her voice. Her response caused me to knit my eyebrows in annoyance.
"So we're doing this, huh?" I asked, electricity arcing between my fingers as I tensed my arms and got into a combat stance.
Laura grinned, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Come on, then"
The blond girl smirked as she watched me. "He's got spirit, da?" She said, lowering her center of gravity in preparation.
Electricity sparked in my eyes as I crouched, ready to pounce.
"NO, NO, NO! WE AIN'T DOING ANYTHING!" The southern girl suddenly jumped between us with arms raised, yelling while staring down her friends.
"You're no fun." Laura replied, sighing as she got out of her fighting stance.
I just raised an eyebrow as I looked them over.
I was hesitant to let my guard down, but I was outnumbered and had just watched them make a portal. If I could avoid fighting them, I definitely wanted to.
The southern belle sighed, relaxing her shoulders before turning to me with a sweet smile.
She took a step towards me, and I took a step backwards. She noticed, halting her approach and raising her hands to make it clear she wasn't a threat.
"He's like a cornered kitten, no? The Russian spoke, clearly amused by my wariness.
"At least kittens can be cute, he's just being annoying." Laura replied, blowing a strand of her dark brown hair out of her face.
"FUCK YOU, EMO!" I yelled from across the rooftop.
She just glared at me, before tensing her hands and... holy shit metal claws just popped out from between her knuckles.
"I apologize for my outburst."
The southern belle looked over her shoulder and glared at Laura, who just clicked her tongue in annoyance and retracted her claws. "Cole, sweetie, we're not related to that Fisk person you mentioned. We just want to have a chat."
"And that's why you cornered me in my school?" I asked, irritation lacing my voice.
She cringed slightly. "Yeah, sorry about that, sugah. Badly planned on our part. But I swear, we mean you no harm."
I exhaled deeply, pinching the bridge of my nose as I thought.
Logically, I should keep running and not turn back. But, my instincts aren't screaming at me to run. So either they really don't mean me harm, or I can't outrun them even if I tried.
I just sighed as I sat down on the ledge behind. "Well, go on I guess."
"My name is Rogue. Behind me are Laura, whom you've already met, and Magik. We're here on behalf of the X-Men." She began, beaming with pride at the mention of their affiliation.
"Woah... the X-Men!?" I replied.
"So you've heard of us?" She asked, eyes sparkling like a child that just got a puppy.
"No." My face was deadpan as I crushed her excitement.
Rogue just sighed as her shoulders dropped.
"Great, another sarcastic teenager. Just what the institute needed." She muttered, staring at the floor no doubt while questioning her life choices.
"So what do your X-Men want from me? I don't recall stealing from any gang with that name. Otherwise I'd have a selfie in my scrapbook."
"You have a scrapbook? Wait, forget that." Rogue shook her head, walked closer and extended her hand towards me.
"We want you to join us, Cole."
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