The next morning, you were awakened by the sound of birds chirping. It was a melodious sound that made you smile as you opened your eyes. Seconds after, though, you heard Ororo grunt and mumble something about making those birds shut up.

You held back a laugh as you got out of bed. A quick glance at your watch informed you it was 9 am. There was no class today, like every Saturdays.

As soon as you got up,your thoughts went down a familiar road. A road that had paved your dreams of the night before. The touch of Warren's hand on your cheek, the heat in your body, the light of the moon on his profile, his hand on the small of your back as you went back together into the bowling alley.

Small gestures and details of the night that made your heart beat stronger and your feelings for him bloom faster than a flower in the sun.

So obviously, when you got out of your bedroom, leaving Ororo behind snoring lightly in her bed, the first thing you wanted to do was to see Warren. You wanted to be alone with him again. You wanted to talk to him, see if he felt better than the night before. But mostly, you craved for his touch.

Surprisingly, he wasn't easy to find. You looked for him in the most obvious places at first: his shared bedroom, the library, the living room where he would often hang out with Peter, and even the cafeteria. You searched the house for a good fifteen minutes before you decided to try your luck in the garden. And then, it was only after walking through a fair amount of it that you finally caught a glimpse of him. Or rather, of his wings.

You had been walking back to the manor, feeling slightly defeated as you had found no trace of him, when the sun fought its way through the Grey menacing clouds above your head. A quivering ray of sunshine had landed on the metal of Warren's wings and made it shine brightly. By pure luck, you caught the blinding reflection from the corner of your eyes and looked up to find Warren sitting on the roof, his legs dangling in the emptiness and his head raised to the sky.

Happiness and terror started to battle inside of you when a gust of wind, signaling Peter's arrival, made your hair fly in your eyes. You looked away abruptly, not wanting Peter to make fun of you again, but it was too late. When your eyes landed on Peter, you saw his gaze fall on Warren and then back on you. A smug smile stretched his thin lips.

"Looking for your boyfriend?"

You crossed your arms against your chest defensively. Clearly, talking to Peter was the last thing you wanted to do right now.

Last night, when you had left the game to join Warren outside, you had known that it would not go unnoticed and that it would probably make your friends talk, but still, you were not prepared for what Peter had in store for you. As soon as you had joined your friends back into the bowling alley, Peter started to make innuendos about you and Warren. Smutty innuendos that made you uncomfortable. He hadn't stop until you reached your bedroom with Ororo and then, as the boys had walked down the corridor, you made the mistake of taking one last glance at Warren. Peter had seen you. He had winked and then, disrupting the quietness, shouted: "It's not too late to invite him in your bed and finish what you started." You had blushed wildly as Warren dragged Peter away, but the mutant had the time to catch the red on your cheeks and it only convinced him further of the truth of his words.

"He's not my boyfriend," you mumbled weakly.

"Are you not going to make it official? I mean, I know it's the 80s but still, after what the both of you did last night, you can't possibly want people to think you're that kind of girl, right?" he said, a look of concern on his pale face.

"What do you mean?" you asked, suddenly terrified.

You glanced at Warren, still sitting on the roof, and wondered what he had told Peter. Did he lie about what happened? You couldn't believe he would do that. Still, you had to add:

"Nothing happened, we just talked!"

The look of disappointment that settled on Peter's face made your unease disappeared as you realized what had happened.

"You've got your story straight, I see," Peter said, squinting his eyes at you. "But I'm not buying it. I know something happened between the two of you and I'm going to make you admit it."

"There's nothing to admit, Peter."

You stared at him, relief and anger fighting in your body. Relief that Warren had said the truth to his friends, and anger against Peter for trying to trick you like that. You didn't like it at all, however the mutant didn't seem to notice the harshness in your tone as he smiled mysteriously before saying:

"There's always something to admit."

And then, he vanished before you could retort anything.

You sighed. Peter would not stop until he would get what he wanted. The problem was that what he wanted hadn't happened. Not yet, at least. But then, maybe it would never happen.

You ran a hand through your hair to calm your nerves before walking back toward the school. Soon, you were climbing the wooden and dusty stairs leading to the attic and were out again under the menacing sky. The wind was stronger on the roof. It cut right through your jumper and chilled you to the bones, but you didn't stop. You walked toward Warren until you reached the low wall he was sitting on.

"Can't get enough of me?" he said as a greeting.

He had his back on you, but even though you couldn't see his smile, you could hear it in the tone of his voice.

You smiled back.

"Who said I came for you? Maybe I just wanted to enjoy the view."

He chuckled faintly before turning toward you. His blue eyes bored into yours, making you forget everything: from the wind that made you shiver to the void, spread on the other side of the low wall, that made your stomach churned.

"The view's nicer where I am," he said, like an invitation.

You felt your pulse quicken: you loved the way he looked at this instant: his gaze holding yours steadily, his head slightly tilted and a knowing smile on his lips.

You only had to do a few steps to join him, to sit next to him. To see how far it would go.

But then, those few steps seemed rather insurmountable. Without your volition, your eyes fell on the horizon and especially on the garden that spread before you in a mix of green and brown. The grass and the trees seemed so close,but at the same time so far away. You couldn't help but think that you wouldn't survive a fall from this height.

In the eerie silence, Warren eyed you curiously. You could tell he was wondering why you were suddenly so quiet. You were about to chicken out and tell him you were too cold to stay on the roof when he offered you his hand.

"Come," he whispered gently.

You didn't hesitate. Youtook his hand with trembling fingers before your brain could stop you from doing so, but as soon as you sat on the low wall, you felt your blood turn cold. Your fear doubled and it suddenly seemed like you could feel the danger of being so close to the edge. You planted your feet firmly on the roof as your nails dug into Warren's warm skin. And when he motioned for you to turn around so you could sit facing the garden, your body turned to stone.

"I can't..." you muttered when you caught his disconcerted frown.

Shivering, you saw the confusion drowning his features and then, only seconds later, understanding piercing through his eyes.

"You're afraid of heights," he stated as he squeezed your hand.

His voice was flat and you wondered if he thought it was a stupid fear. You almost expected him to look down on you when you nodded to confirm his statement, but quite the opposite happened. His features softened as he said:

"I guess you didn't really come for the view, then."

"Not really," you admitted. "I wanted to see you."

You gulped nervously at the end of your sentence. You couldn't believe you had said it out loud. And even more so, said it in front of Warren. The mutant's eyes widened. He seemed speechless. His blond curls flickering in the wind, he turned abruptly away from you to gaze into the horizon, letting go of your hands in the same movement.

Shamefully and slightly confused, you turned your head toward the roof. Your hand seemed dreadfully empty. Weren't you supposed to say that? Were you supposed to leave now?

You cast a quick glance at his profile: his jaw was clenched and his eyes closed. He seemed to be battling with his thoughts. You decided to leave, not wanting to be a further annoyance, but you barely had the time to get up that a sudden and strong gust of wind hit you, pushing you backward. A horrified squeal crossed your lips as the back of your thighs hit the low wall. You were already picturing yourself falling over it when you felt someone catch you by the arm.

"Hey, careful!"

Warren's voice was muffled by the wind as he got up and dragged you away from the edge. A look of pure panic on your features, you clutched at Warren's arm with your free hand as your hair was flying around your face, hitting your skin with stubbornness.

You would have fell if Warren hadn't caught you. You knew it. And it made your mind go crazy. You almost felt like you were on the brick of a panic attack when Warren pulled you toward his chest in an attempt to appease you.

For a long time, you couldn't calm down the trembling in your body or the erratic beating of your heart. You had to wait for the gust of wind to slow down for your shivers to do the same. That's only then that you realized your face was buried in Warren's neck.

All the nerves in your body seemed to spark at once. You felt an arm wrapped around your shoulder, a hand resting on the small of your back, the muscles of a chest pressing against your hands and, underneath it, a heart beating steadily.

Warren's heart. Warren's arm and hand and chest.

You inhaled raggedly and the smell of leather tickled your nose.

"Are you okay?"

His voice was a murmur. You closed your eyes and took a long breath to clear your mind. It was mostly to make the shame go away, but also to prepare yourself to face Warren after the fit you just had.

"I'm sorry," you began bashfully while pulling away from his embrace. "I freaked out."

Warren let go of you and you almost believed you saw reluctance in his eyes as he did so. It eased your shame and you observed him more carefully, wondering if he was missing, like you were, the feeling of your bodies embracing.

"It's okay." He scratched the back of his neck, in a sign of what you had come to realize was nervousness, before he added. "But really, how do you feel?"

A hint of concern was showing in his frown, slightly hidden behind blond curls. He gazed down at you, waiting for your answer.

"I'm good. It was just a stupid reaction to a stupid fear..."

You glanced at the low wall behind him and gulped; you didn't want to say it out loud, but you were not really fine. The fear was still clutching at your stomach and you were able to keep it at bay for now, but you knew that if you didn't move away from the edge soon, it wouldn't stay like that very long.

"I'm not talking about that. How are you since the accident?" Your perplexity must have shown on your face because he added. "The accident with your powers, a few days ago."

"Oh..." You lowered your eyes on your feet, trying to mutter a coherent answer.

How did you fell? If you were to be honest with yourself, and him, you felt fine. Not great, not even good, but fine. And it was better than nothing. And it sure was better than what you were used to before coming to the school.

So, you looked back up at him and said:

"I'm fine. I just need to train more."

"Training is fine, but you also need to accept that your power is a part of yourself and not your enemy. When you'll be able to do it, then it'll be easier."

You nodded. You already knew that. The Professor had been the first one to tell you those words when you arrived. Still, it wasn't an easy thing to do.

"I'm trying."

"You'll succeed, eventually. Like I did. And when you do, you'll be more powerful than most mutants."

His words sparked surprise in you.

"I don't think I want that. I just want to stop hurting people."

Your voice fell to a whisper at the end of your sentence. Tears tried to fight their way to your eyes, but you pushed them back alongside the awful memory that was creeping back from the darkest depth of your brain.

"Powerful doesn't necessarily mean hurting people. It also means protecting them."

Warren's face was lit with fierce solemnity. At this instant, he wasn't a student anymore, he was a soldier, a fighter. His clenched fists seemed ready to be use and you couldn't help but wonder how many times he had done just that: fight. Whether to hurt or to protect.

In the silence that followed, his eyes trapped yours. With the cloudy sky above your heads, they almost seemed gray, veiled by tempestuous thoughts fighting behind his irises. Nervously, you chewed at your bottom lip which made his gaze fall on your mouth.

You were pretty sure your heart missed a beat.

There was only one thing you wanted right now: to kiss him. And from the look he gave you when his eyes met yours again, you felt like he wanted the same thing.

So when Jean's voice unexpectedly echoed in your head, you almost shouted in anger.

Meeting in the guy's bedroom, now!

Warren's swearing hit your ears as soon as Jean's voice disappeared. It felt weird to have someone talk to you in your head. You could even say it was uncomfortable and slightly annoying. You knew Warren felt the same way from the scowl on his face, but you didn't linger on his features.

Now that the spell was broken, you felt uneasy. It was the first time in your life you felt so strongly for a boy you barely even knew and it freaked you out. So instead of trying to go back to the mood you were in before Jean's interruption, you motioned toward the door leading back inside the school and said:

"We should go downstairs, see what Jean wants."

Warren nodded and, just like that, you were back to square one.