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Hollins, Alabama - August 1, 2015; Scott/Bobby
Topic Started: Aug 9 2015, 06:40 AM (458 Views)
Scott Summers
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Cyclops
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RANDOLPH RESIDENCE
HOLLINS, CLAY COUNTY, ALABAMA
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From the moment the Professor gave them the address of the house they were visiting, Scott already knew that this was not going to be a smooth recruitment assignment by any means or definition. Certainly, it wasn't going to the most difficult one he'd ever gone on--after all, he'd been conducting similar visits for over fifteen years--but Scott still remained wary of situations wherein there was a possibility of encountering a hostile household. He feared any harm coming to an innocent young mutant more than anything.

Professor Xavier remained vague about the details in order to help Scott keep an objective mind, but the Deputy Headmaster had been around these parts of the South before. Tolerance and acceptance weren't exactly their best traits around these parts.

Scott parked their rental truck, a Dodge Ram, in a clearing further down the road and about a five minute walk away from the actual house. He'd invited his former mentee Bobby as his partner on his assignment. The young teacher was seasoned enough to be able to handle any situation that might occur, and yet new and idealistic enough to be a soothing presence to both the family and their potential recruit herself.

"So it's likely that Mrs. Randolph is going to be at home with Charlene," Scott told Bobby, as they walked down the dusty side road to the house. He briefed his partner before they left the mansion earlier that day, but a whole commercial flight had passed since then, and it never hurt to go over things again to be clear on the plan. "Charlene was a Cerebro-tracked recruit, so we don't have too much intel to go on. As far the Professor could tell, she's a budding precog of sorts. Now I know you haven't really done first contact recruitments, but it's the sort of thing you get better at in time."

The two men walked up the path walk to the front porch, the rotting steps creaking too loudly for Scott's taste. "This mother isn't likely to lay out the welcoming mat for us, but the important thing to remember is to just keep your cool, no matter what. And remember that Charlene's safety is the primary concern. She's only nine." Scott squared his shoulders and tried to give Bobby an encouraging smile. "Ready? I'll give you the honor." He gestured at the doorbell.
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Robert Drake
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Iceman
Bobby had be honored when Scott had asked him to come along on a recruitment mission. He loved interacting with students and adored his 4th grade class even if they had now moved on to 5th grade. Bobby wasn't going to pretend that he wasn't nervous this was a big deal, but he trusted Scott's judgement and trusted in his training, it wasn't like he went with his mentor often.

He'd really wanted to ask his old mentor for some advise but he'd not known how to bring the subject up and now obviously wasn't the time. As Scott had said Charlene's safety was their priority and as such he had to be focused. So for now the subject was pushed to the back of his mind.

Bobby was dressed in light clothing but even so it was still uncomfortably warm for him. Arriving at the door Bobby made sure he had his friendliest facial expression on before pushing on the door bell.

There was a moment of silence before sounds of banning and shouting could be heard coming from inside the residence. When the door finally opened a woman, whom Bobby supposed was Mrs. Randolph, gave them both a long hard stare looking them up and down.

Before Bobby could get a word in Mrs. Randolph started yelling at them. "No! I do not want any of your damn Mormon pushing blasphemy here! I thought I made that clear the last time your sought came by!"

Before she could slam the door in their face Bobby spoke up. Keeping his tone even and friendly, despite the fact the he knew she wasn't going to be an easy customer to deal with, he said; "We're here about Charlene. Mrs. Randolph."

"What has that damn rodent of mine done now?! She'll be in so much more trouble then she already is!"
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Scott Summers
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Scott tried not to flinch visibly at the sharp tone of Mrs. Randolph's voice referring to her own daughter as a "rodent". It was clear they were entering an abusive household, and hardly anything in the world fired up his protective instincts more than parents hurting their own children. Scott's jaw tightened as he worked on staying focused on the task at hand. Hidden behind his ruby-quartz sunglasses, his eyes did a quick scan of the area behind the woman blocking their path through the door. Without question, they needed to gain access into the house... by invitation or by force. Much more preferably the former, but they had only a few seconds to give this irate mother a reason to trust them.

"Charlene hasn't done anything at all, ma'am," Scott said, suddenly hit by an idea. He prayed Bobby would have the instinct to catch on and follow his lead. "We're from the state board, and we're here about your daughter's scores in the A-R-M-T--that's the Alabama Reading and Mathematics Test, ma'am."

"Oh." The woman smirked and snorted derisively. "I already known that girl's stupider than a chicken. Ain't no need to give me a test score to say that."

"On the contrary, Mrs. Randolph, Charlene scored very well on her reading and math sections," Scott interjected. "We're here to offer her the chance to move into an accelerated class, if not a scholarship to attend a school up in Talladega."

The woman's smirk soured into a scowl. "Ain't interested in none of that nonsense, either!" she snapped. "Waste of time already sending her to that trash bin that can't even teach her nothin'. Now beat it before I set the dog on ya!"

Scott slammed a hand on the edge of the door, with a little more force than he intended, to stop Mrs. Randolph from closing it on them. "I don't think you understand, Mrs. Randolph," he said, his voice icily level and calm. "Yes, we can beat it and send your regards to the superintendent's office. But we would have to report your refusal to let us speak to Charlene. And reports like that have a way of raising flags at CPS." He lifted his eyebrows slightly, daring the woman to call his bluff. "And I'm sure you wouldn't want THAT."

The woman glared up defiantly at Scott, but there was a glint of fear in her watery blue eyes before she finally gave a disgusted sound and yanked the door wide open. "Get inside, then."

"Thank you," Scott said with a wan smile, and strode straight into the living room. When Mrs. Randolph's back was turned to them, Scott caught Bobby's eye, pointed at him and tapped two fingers against his left shoulder--mission code for you take charge of the hostage. By default, it meant that Scott would then be responsible for Mrs. Randolph, and whatever else she might try to do. Bobby's priority would simply be to keep Charlene safe.

Because no matter what, Scott had determined, they would not be leaving that house without the little girl.
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Robert Drake
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Everything about this situation was raising red flags and it was clear that the same was happening with Scott, Bobby happily let Scott take lead it was clear that it was going to be a difficult one. Mrs. Randolph clearly just wanted to get rid of them. Only complying with Scott's request because of the hinted threat that was there. This woman was clearly a piece of work. Bobby knew that their best chance right now was to keep playing along with the story that Scott had made up. He made sure to store each thing Scott said as not to get it wrong when he spoke.

Once they were let into the house Bobby nodded to confirm that he understood his job. While Mrs. Randolph yelled up the stairs; "Charlene come down here right now and you better have finished cleaning those floors." Before she looked at the two. "I'd offer you two fancy boys a drink but you wont be staying here long enough." Bobby took that as her wanting to get rid of them as soon as they'd seen the girl.

Bobby's eyes went straight to the girls as he saw her start to descend the stairs, taking in her appearance Bobby wanting to scoop her up and leave the house right now. She looked skinny for her age and her clothes worn and tattered. It was just adding to the concern he felt.

"There you've seen her she's clearly fine." Bobby spoke up, "If we could just speak to Charlene alone a moment. It's important we find out if she's a candidate for the scholarship. We're from the A-R-M-T-, about your test results, how we think you're a candidate to go to a school in Talladega." The last part he'd directed to Charlene having crouched down to her level to speak to her. Trying to convey with his eyes that they were just here to help. But her confused expression wasn't seeming to help.
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Scott Summers
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The sight of Charlene's pathetic, emaciated condition didn't escape Scott's notice when she finally came downstairs to meet them. The teacher felt a tremor of fury run deep into his bones when he noted her unkempt appearance and the purplish bruises that spotted her skinny limbs. Glancing over at Mrs. Randolph, Scott caught her staring back at him with the same expression of smug defiance. She knew that they had caught the glaring signs of her child abuse, and yet she somehow felt confident that they would not be able to do anything about it. Scott did not often feel violent urges towards women, but in that moment, he felt a ravenous desire to deliver the same kind of punishment on Mrs. Randolph that she gave her nine-year-old kid.

Plus change.

But he had a role to play in this assignment. Bobby was to keep his focus on Charlene, while he kept his attention on the girl's crazy mother. The situation was already charged with tension that could erupt quickly at the slightest provocation. Scott didn't care about what Mrs. Randolph might try on him--but she wasn't going to lay another hand on her daughter.

When Bobby requested that they speak to Charlene alone, Mrs. Randolph's only response was to plant her feet and cross her arms over her chest. She and Scott continued their staring match from opposite sides of the room.

Meanwhile, the young girl struggled to work out inside her own heads what was happening. What exactly these two strange men were doing inside their house. How had they gotten in there in the first place? The only other men who went in and out of their house were these overweight, bearded and beer-and-smoke-smelling brutes who frightened her just by their glances. The days they came around were the days she would gladly stay locked up in her room, while they dealt with her mother, doing whatever caused her to shriek with laughter and then alternately in pain.

But these two men... the one speaking with her was the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life, with such wonderful blue eyes and a kind voice she wanted to just cry and hug him. He looked like an angel. The other man was a little more intimidating. He kept his eyes covered in sunglasses, and while he was handsome too, he looked angry. Charlene could already see her mother glaring at him as though he were vermin she wanted to step on and scrape off the bottom of her shoe.

Quote:
 
We're from the A-R-M-T-, about your test results, how we think you're a candidate to go to a school in Talladega."


Charlene blinked. She was tired and hungry and miserable, and it was hard to think. It was always hard for her to focus in class too, on the the days she actually got to go to school because her mother wanted her out of the house. She had a dreadful time at school, but it was better than being at home. She had no friends, got teased by her classmates for her raggedy clothes, and even with her best effort, she could barely pass her classes. She didn't remember taking any such test, and if she did, she knew there was no way she could do well enough to deserve a scholarship.

But the kind man was trying to convey something to her with those blue eyes. He knew. Somehow, he knew about what she was going through and what her mother was doing to her, and he wanted to help. Charlene's heart suddenly leaped in her chest with a surge of hope. She would go anywhere with this man and never look back.

"I want to go," she whispered, loud enough so that only Bobby could hear. Her eyes started to fill with tears, but somehow she managed to say it again a little more loudly and bravely, "I want to go."

"Like hell you are!" Mrs. Randolph snapped. "You ain't going no where, you brat!"

She started to move forward, threateningly, as though meaning to snatch away the girl, but Scott immediately was on her, blocking her path. "Just calm down, Mrs. Randolph. There's got to be a way we can talk about this peacefully and work something out."

"F*ck you!" The woman spat on his face, but then suddenly turned and stormed out of the living room.

Scott knew instantly that this was no good sign at all. She would surely be back with a gun or weapon of some kind. He turned to Bobby. "We have to go. Now. Charlene, sweetheart, if you really want to come with us, we need to leave. We can get you somewhere safe. I promise we'll have everything you need and you will have an infinitely better life than this. But we have to--"

A loud, ugly barking sound made Scott freeze. Suddenly a massive blur of black fur bolted into the room.

"Titus, NO!" a child's voice screamed. "Don't hurt him!"

And suddenly the monster of a pitbull had its jaws locked around Charlene's little forearm. The girl shrieked and cried, as the dog knocked her to the floor, snarling and refusing to let go as it attempted to rip the limb off.
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Robert Drake
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Keeping all the anger that he felt at bay, he had to keep his face calm and friendly, Charlene was his responsibility right now. No matter what the woman who was supposed to be her mother was saying and trying to do he was going to protect this girl, he was going to get her out of here. The woman left after sharing some explosive words with Scott.

They were going to leave, while there was a moment of calm and then everything happened so fast. Bobby was facing away from the door, turning Bobby saw as the dog charge him, before last minute Charlene got in the way. Sweet Charlene who clearly had so many problems risked her safety to protect him. He a grown man who could have and would have been able to take care of it himself.

Acting on reflex Bobby froze the dog in it's entirety causing it to let go of Charlene's arm, despite it being a reflex reaction Bobby had enough control over his powers that while the dog had been frozen none of Charlene's arm had.

Working quickly as he was sure it was going to get much more ugly Bobby tore the bottom part of his shirt off to tire around the nasty injury Charlene had sustained. Once that was done he scooped Charlene in his arms. "You're going to be okay sweetheart just keep hold of me. We're going to get you out of here and somewhere safe. I wont let her heart you again." Bobby was serious in his promise. He would protect this girl and get her out of here.

"How dare you kill my precious dog! Titus was like the son I never had! Put down that brat of mine right now she's mine and she isn't going anywhere with your sort!" Of course she loved the dog more then her own daughter. Bobby stood turning to the mother who was holding a cast iron frying pan. "We're leaving." Bobby told Mrs. Randolph while starting to walk to the front door.

"Over my dead body." Mrs. Randolph exclaimed swinging the frying pan at Bobby and Charlene, refusing to use his powers on the woman, partly because he just couldn't hurt a woman and partly because he didn't trust himself to control his powers enough to not kill or seriously harm her. Bobby turned to protect Charlene, taking the full force of the swing on the brow of his head.

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Scott Summers
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Cyclops
Scott was probably the most surprised out of everyone in the room when Charlene stepped in front of Bobby to take the attacking dog’s vicious bite. He had not seen such selfless, instinctive courage in someone so young—not in a very long time, despite having worked for years in a school that trained heroes. Bobby was all but a stranger to her, yet she did not hesitate to meet danger in order to protect him. She would be a natural as a future X-Man.

Everything afterward happened so quickly. Bobby used his powers to effortlessly incapacitate the pitbull, and then scooped up the little girl into his arms, where Scott was sure Charlene would be safe. He knew his former mentee and his devotion to the Xavier kids. He would give his life for them without a thought, just as Scott would.

But in a way, Bobby would always be his kid too, and damned would Scott be before he let anyone hurt his own either.

Mrs. Randolph had taken to screaming like a madwoman, desperate to stop them from taking away her daughter, the innocent target of her likely drug-induced lunacy. “I knew there was a stink coming off the both of you and I was right!” she shrieked, her eyes wide with mixed fear and hatred. “You’re demon mutants just like she is, and you need to have the devils exorcized out of you too!”

Scott knew he couldn’t take the usual approach of just knocking the woman out, especially in front of her own child. There was protocol and standards of decency that X-Men adhered to when dealing with humans, even the hostile ones. Even the batshit crazy harpies.

Scott saw no gun, surprisingly. But there were plenty of other things in the kitchen, several yards within reach, that Mrs. Randolph could use to cause some serious damage if they weren’t careful. Bobby did the right thing in heading straight for the exit with Charlene. Scott prepared to back out the door right after them, using force as necessary to prevent them from being followed.

And then, barking rumbled down the hallway again. Scott shifted his position in the nick of time before the jaws of a hulking black Rottweiler could lock around his calf. He quickly released a forcible blast of energy at the dog’s midsection, knocking it clear across the room and smashing against a side table.

Scott returned his attention to Mrs. Randolph in time to see her take a second swing of the iron pan at the disoriented Bobby’s head. A red flash shot at her, and she screamed above the crash of the pan falling to the floor. She clutched at her hand, bones now broken in multiple places.

“You all right?” Scott grabbed Bobby’s shoulders to steady him, scanning him for signs of blood around his head. “Can you keep walking?” When the boy nodded, he patted his arm. “Come on… let’s get out of here.”

From the corner of his eye, he spotted Mrs. Randolph launch across the kitchen and yank a huge chef’s knife from the knife block. He whirled around and caught her wrist before the blade could plunge into his chest. Twisting the woman’s arm behind her back, he used one hand to grab her by the back of the neck and pin her chest-down on the kitchen table.

“You didn’t treat that little girl like she deserved to be treated,” he growled. He raised her head up slightly only to slam it back down hard against the table surface, to drive the point home. “I don’t see any good reason why I should give you the respect owed to a woman… except for the fact that I am not a cold, heartless monster like you. But if you ever lay a hand on Charlene again—not that you will ever be able to come close enough to do it—that hand is going to come clean off.”

Raising his head, he called out to Bobby. “Why don't we make sure Mrs. Randolph doesn't get any bright ideas in trying to chase us down the road, like I know she's thinking right now?"

He slammed down the chef's knife on the table close to her ear. "Don't worry, I'll leave this right here so you can chip yourself loose if you get too tired of waiting to thaw out."
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Robert Drake
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Iceman
For moment their Bobby thought that his head was actually going to split open. It was ringing so much. As he felt Scott's hand on his shoulder he steadied, sure his head hurt and sure he felt a bit dizzy and there was an slight underlining feeling like he might hurl. But the feeling of Charlene holding onto him even tighter helped him keep his mind on the task at hand. He was going to get her out of here. "I'm good." Bobby answered turning as Scott handled Mrs. Randolph, he was turned in such a way that Charlene couldn't see but he could.

Shifting Charlene so that one of his hand was free Bobby held his hand up pointing it towards Mrs. Randolph's legs encasing her from her feet up to half way up her shins in solid ice. Bobby made sure that it was thick enough to hold her for a period of time. Once it was done Bobby ignored the yelling coming from the stuck woman and walked out of the house. Bobby personally could do with this being over and being able to sit down for a bit.

Although apparently it wasn't going to be so simple. Once out of the house there was a man walking towards the house, clearly have heard the commotion. He was carrying a shotgun. "'ere what you doing with Mrs. Randolph's kid?" Clearly deciding that they were hostile he pumped the shotgun a fired at them. Bobby held his hand up and made an ice wall in time for the pellets to embed in the ice an not them. Why did all the violent people have to live together?
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Scott Summers
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Cyclops
It had been foolish of Scott to hope, even for a minute, that with Mrs. Randolph immobilized, they would be able to escape home free. He had barely stepped out into the front porch to join Bobby and Charlene when he suddenly he heard the familiar, stomach-sinking click of a shotgun being pumped. The shot was fired before he could spot their attacker. Fortunately, Bobby’s reflexes were still superior despite his injury, and formed an ice shield in time to block the shower of pellets.

Scott’s patience was running thin, but he dug deep into the inner pool of calm he had developed over years of experience handling hostile recruitment situations. “Get her into the car, Bobby,” he said, his voice quiet, hard and steady, as was his stare at the shotgun-wielding man. “I’ll be right behind you.”

He held up his hands for their attacker to see, and dared just a few steps closer. The man was slowly recovering from the shock of this unexpected encounter with mutants, but didn’t seem like he was intimidated enough to back down.

“Sir, we’re taking custody of Mrs. Randolph’s daughter,” Scott called out to him. “We don’t mean her any harm. This is an unacceptable environment for any child, and so we are moving her to someplace safer. Your concern is appreciated, but the matter does not involve you. Please don’t get in the way.”

The shotgun rose again. A red beam flashed across the distance between the two men and—CRACK—the long steel barrel broke cleanly in half. To his credit, the man didn’t take off running right away. He gave a shout of fear and surprise, but what followed as a pause of silence that Scott recognized as trouble. Don’t do it. Just walk away.

And suddenly, the 6-foot tall, barrel chested man was charging at him, meaty fists raised to start punching. In a single fluid motion, Scott ducked his head, reached out and grabbed the swinging arm, turned and pulled, slamming the two hundred pound man to the dirt. A swift blow to a precise spot on the head, and the good neighbor was out.
These recruitment situations probably were much easier for mutants who just took whatever they wanted, however they wanted. It took a lot more work to be the good guys. Scott sighed and, shaking his head, returned to the truck to rejoin Bobby.

“How are we doing? Ready to go home?” Scott smiled at Charlene as he climbed in behind the wheel and started the truck. The girl gave no response but just tried to bury her head further into Bobby’s chest. At least her trust in Bobby came immediately. That was all they needed for now.

Scott pulled out into the road and started the trip back to the airport. Miraculously but thankfully, Charlene fell asleep about fifteen minutes into the drive. Scott glanced at her again where she was nestled comfortably in Bobby’s lap.

“Looks like we’re going to have to give you some parenting classes,” he joked, even though that was probably the reality. If Charlene was going to imprint on Bobby the way she seems to have, the young teach was going to have to bear parenting responsibilities, something Scott had no doubt his mentee was ready for.
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Robert Drake
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Iceman
Once Scott relieved him outside, taking the over the crazy neighbour Bobby moved quickly to the truck, defiantly feeling the need to sit down and stop having to run around and defend himself and the child. He certainly would be glad to be in his bed tonight to sleep this one off. He was feeling fairly out of it by now, he didn't think he could concentrate on using his powers for much longer without accidentally freezing someone whole. That would be a problem.

Charlene's refusal to let go of him, meant that Bobby broke with his usual car safety rules. Not something he was known for doing, he was usually a stickler for the rules as anyone who had ever been in a car driven by him would know.

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“Looks like we’re going to have to give you some parenting classes,”


Bobby wasn't going to argue with that, with Charlene taking to him like this and her own mother clearly not being legally fit to look after her they'd have to take over the actual parental role and if it didn't change he knew it would be his privilege. "Guess if she wants me. I'll have to be the best I can be for her." Letting Scott know that all joking aside if she actually did want him he'd be more then prepared to take up the mantle. Looking at the sleeping form Bobby decided to bring up the subject he'd been meaning to for a awhile. "I'm still in love with Rogue."
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Scott Summers
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"You're a natural, Bobby," Scott said, patting his mentee's arm. "You'll be great. That's why Charlene's taken to you so quickly, because she feels it. She knows you're someone who can take care of her and keep her safe for a change."

After this statement, a moment of peaceful silence fell in the truck for about a minute or so. Scott's mind was already thinking ahead to their next steps. Once they got the airport, it wouldn't take very long for him to get their plane ready for takeoff. Assuming nothing else went awry, they would have their new recruit safely back at the mansion in time for dinner. Professor Xavier would certainly be glad to welcome her.

The next sentence that came out of Bobby's mouth took Scott by surprise and steered his thoughts immediately back to the present. It wasn't what he said that surprised him, but the randomness of the timing. But then he realized that this was probably something his mentee has been waiting to get out of his chest for a while now, because it was something Scott has been wondering about ever since Rogue contacted them about her plans to return.

"I don't that's much of a secret or a surprise, Bobby," he finally said. "At least, not to me. I've known you a long time and I've never seen you take interest in any girl the way you've loved Rogue. Feelings like that are nearly impossible let go of." As he said it, Scott knew that he may as well be addressing himself and his own situation, but he kept his focus. "I think the only question now is what you're planning on doing about it now that she's back at the mansion."
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Robert Drake
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Iceman
Bobby nodded to Scott's words, he wasn't sure if he really would be up to it, he could probably name five or so more people better prepared and qualified for it but he sure was going to give it all he had and hopefully that would be enough. He sent all day for the school year with kids this age, but this was a little different.

Unsure about how he felt about the fact that it was so apparent about his feelings for Rogue, although not completely shocked, it had been the reason he and Kitty had broken up. But it wasn't all that comforting to know that perhaps everyone could see that he had feelings for the woman. "I honestly don't know. She left me originally to protect me. I thought I got over her. Then she came back and I realised I hadn't. But before I could tell her she left again. I'm scared that if I tell her she'll just leave again. I don't think I can bear to lose her again." Bobby spoke softly knowing that some of what he said Scott might already know. It wasn't that Bobby didn't talk about his feelings at all, there were just somethings that were not easy to talk about.
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