You Just Might Make Me Believe
Prologue

Logan woke up in a cold sweat. He was having yet another nightmare. He had one every night since the day Jean had died. It all started off the exact same way:

He was in the house where the professor had died except everything was different. At the house the only people who were there was the professor and him. Wolverine could see the professor and was trying everything in his power to get to him and stop his death. He could hear the professor begging him to save him. Before he could get to Charles he was gone. The house was replaced by blackness surrounding him. He could see a shadow coming closer to him. “Who is there? Answer me, who are you?”
“Don’t you recognize me Wolverine? Don’t you recognize the woman you said that you loved?” Out of the shadow Jean appeared. She was holding her stomach. “Maybe this will help.” She moved her hand and there were three huge holes in her stomach. “Look at me now Wolverine. Do you know who I am now?”
“Jean.”
“That’s right, it’s Jean. The woman you said you loved. The woman you killed. How could you do this to me?”
“I had no choice. I had to stop you.”
“I begged you to save me and instead you killed me. You are evil. You are the one who deserves to die. I hate you.”
“Jean no don’t say that.”
“It’s true. You are a murderer. You killed me. You are a murderer. Murderer, murderer, murderer…” This continued as Jean disappeared into the darkness. Out of the darkness Charles appeared.
“Wolverine.”
“Charles.”
“You are a murderer. You killed Jean. You let Jean kill me. You are supposed to be unstoppable but you just let me die.”
“I’m so sorry Charles. I tried but…”
“You should have tried harder. This will keep on happening. You will on killing until everyone you care about it dead. You need to leave. No one is safe with you. Leave. Get out of my house. You don’t deserve to be there. You are a murderer.”

Logan jumped out of bed. He pulled on some clothes and threw some more in his bag. “Charles is right. I am a murderer. I don’t deserve to be here. No one needs me here. Marie no longer has her powers and has Bobby. The X-Men have Storm. Everyone would be better off if I was gone.” He zipped up his bag and walked out the bedroom. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he felt like he just couldn’t leave until he paid his respect one last time to Professor, Jean, and Scott. He felt like he owed them that much. He walked out the door and felt rain softly hitting him. “They weren’t calling for rain. Where did this come from?” He rounded the corner and saw what was causing the rain to fall. Standing right in front of Charles grave was a normally strong unemotional Storm crying her eyes out. He had never seen Storm act this way. In the days following everyone’s death he had not really seen her cry. She had shed a few tears but would quickly stop. He never understood why she seemed so unemotional about anything. There were times in which he even referred to her as the ice queen. He never realized that maybe she was morning in a different way, on her own. He felt like he was interrupting a private moment but there was a part of him that did not want to leave. He felt like he should be there just in case she needed him. “Storm, Darlin’, are you ok?”
He saw her body go stiff and the rain seemed to disappear as quick as it had started. “Logan what can I do for you?”
“I was just comin’ outside and saw you crying. Not only that but it was raining when the news people had said there was not a drop in sight.”
“Sorry about that. I allowed my emotions to get out of control. It will never happen again.”
“You don’t have to apologize for being sad. Everyone around here have been sad. You know it’s ok to cry.”
“Not with me Logan. My emotions are tied with the weather.”
“So you were makin it rain. No wonder it smelled and tasted like tears. The clouds were crying cause you were.”
“That’s right. If you will excuse me I’ll go inside.”
She turned to walk inside. Before she could get past Logan he stopped her. “Storm you don’t always have to be so strong. It’s ok to show your emotions. It’s ok to let everyone know you are sad. It’s ok to be sad. People you loved and cared about died. You don’t have to be so strong around everyone, specially me. Storm, cry.”
“I can’t.”
“Yeah you can. I just saw you do it. Cry, Storm. Let it out. Have a break down.”
He saw tears start to fall down her face. Once again he felt the rain start to fall. “Why Logan? Why did they all have to leave me? I’m not strong enough to be in control. I need my friends back. I need my family back.” Her tears started falling harder and she began sobbing her whys. Logan pulled her into his arms so he could comfort her. When her arms went around him, she felt the bag around his shoulder. “Logan, why do you have a suitcase with you?” She pulled back and looked in his eyes for answers. “Logan, answer me. Are you leaving the mansion? The X-Men?”
“Just need to get away for a little while.”
“You can’t leave.”
“No one needs me here.”
“That’s not true Logan. We all need you. Marie…”
“Marie has Bobby. She has her new knight and shining armor. Who else could possibly need me around here?”
“I need you. You can’t leave. I can’t stand to lose one more person I care about.”
“Care about…?”
“Logan, the X-Men is all that I have. I care about everyone on the team. It’s like we all are family. You are a part of that family. Please Logan I’m asking you to stay here. Don’t leave the X-Men.”
“Ok I won’t go.”
“Logan, promise me that you will never leave.”
“I promise. You may live to regret asking me to stay but I will stay.”

Chapter 1: Help me

Logan was outside trying to relax. It has been a year since the professor died and he killed Jean. Things around the mansion seemed to be returning to normal. Storm jumped right into the head mistress job. She offered him the job of Director of Physical Development. This meant to the school board, he was a PE teacher but to the X-Men he was in charge of teaching them hand to hand. She also asked him to take the position of second in command, which he took. He still didn’t understand why she offered it to him. He was sure of anyone she would have asked it would have been Hank. He knew Hank would do it because he did anything else Ororo asked. Hell, he even moved his governmental office to New York because she had asked him to come on as the ethics professor and the residential doctor. Logan knew the reason he did all of this; the fur ball had a crush on the boss lady. He really felt sorry for Hank because he knew Storm didn’t return his feelings. She only saw Hank as a real good friend. Logan was real happy though that Hank was here for her. She needed someone she could open up to because she hadn’t opened up to anyone since the night she talked to him at the grave. He didn’t understand why she felt the need to leave everything inside. He did however feel a little better knowing she let everything out at night. He knew this happened because he could hear the rain and smell the tears. Logan was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of distant thunder. He looked up at the sky and saw it turn from sky blue to dark gray.

---

Ororo was sitting in her office, staring at the mound of paper work in front of her. She couldn’t believe it had been a year since Charles had died and she had taken over the headmistress’s job. She wanted to do everything she could to keep everything in order and make Charles proud. She couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed sometimes. She had actually caught up during the students’ Christmas break but just four months since classes had started back, her desk was already covered with papers. She still had papers to grade which were over a week old, bills to sort out between what needed to be paid and what had been paid. She also had to get together the information the department of education needed; teacher/ student ratio, teacher pay, and teachers work load, all of which was due to them in five days. She had to do the weekly budget, cut the teachers’ checks, and see what she needs to buy at the grocery store. Not only that but she still had to work on a speech for the Human/ Mutant Affair Conference she had to attend in three weeks. She looked up at the hand painted portrait of Charles she hung up in the office. Having it there made her feel like she could feel him all around her and this feeling put her at ease. Today though it was a different story; today she felt like a failure. She felt like she was failing the school, the X-Men, and more importantly Charles’ memory.

“How did you keep all these things together without going out of your mind?”

She heard the door click open and looked up to see Logan standing there “You know talking to yourself is one of the first signs of going crazy boss lady.”

“Logan I really don’t have time to deal with your wisecracks. Why are you here?”

“I came by to check on you. Thought you might be a little upset. Didn’t know you would be so bitchey.”

“I’m sorry Logan. How did you know I was so upset?”

“Well I was outside getting some exercise, when the beautiful blue sky suddenly began to look like it was going to pour. I knew of only one thing that could change the sky like that and that was you. What’s going on Storm?”

“I’m exhausted. I have been staying up several hours doing work and it feels like the pile gets higher and higher. I feel like I’m slowly losing my mind.”

“And how is talking to a picture supposed to help?”

“It doesn’t. I wish I knew how Charles did it. He seemed like he had everything in order and never had a problem.”

“Have you ever though he asked for it when he needed it.”

“He did but…”

“No buts Storm. You need help so ask for it. Anyone in this mansion would be willing to help if you just ask.”

“Who am I going to assign which job?”

“Well you have a lot of filing to do right?”

“Yeah.”

“Give that to one of the girls. Rouge could grade some of your work since she has taken all of your classes. Speaking of classes, how many are you teaching?”

“Eight.”

“That is too many. Give a couple of them to someone else.”

“I’m trying to hire another teacher. It’s not easy to get someone to work at a school full of mutants. Until I get someone there is no one else to teach them.”

“Ok I’ll let you get away with that but there is still no excuse for not asking for any help. If you need some ask for some.”

He turned to walk out of the office when Ororo spoke up. “How are you at money?”

“How am I at what?”

“Money, you know making budgets and all. I need to make sure everything is paid and how much money I have left over so I can make sure I have enough money to buy everything needed at the store. I know how to do it and have everything together to do it but I just don’t have the time. So what do you say Wolverine, will you help me out?”

“I had to go and open my big mouth. Yeah I’ll do it but you have to do something for me.”

“I was planning on paying you extra.”

“Money would be nice but that wasn’t what I was thinking.”

Storm got this confused look on her face. “Well, what do you want?”

Wolverine smiled at Storm “Go out with me.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Go out with me.”

“Logan, I don’t know if we should go out on a date.”

“Who said anything about a date? I just want you to hang out with me. You’re too stressed out boss lady. I just thought if we went out, had a few drinks and had a good time, you might be able to relax.”

“I don’t know…”

“Storm you need to get out of the mansion and have a night out on the town. Come on; just come out with me on night.”

“Ok, I will but tonight you and I are going to work on everything.”

“Deal. I’ll see you tonight boss lady so you can show me what to do.” He walked toward the door but stopped before exiting. “We can also set up our date for Friday.”

When he walked out the door, Ororo dropped back down to her chair in utter amazement and shock. “What have I got myself into?”

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 2: Questions

The dinning hall seemed louder than normal. This may have been because about everyone that lived in the mansion was in here eating. Logan was of course sitting by himself. He honestly preferred it this way. By being alone he was allowed to see everyone that came in and out. He noticed that tonight there were some differences from the normal routine. One difference was the fact that Marie and Bobby came in at total different times. He also noticed that they were not sitting at the same table. He figured there must be some trouble in paradise. He would have to talk to Marie later and find out what was going on. He really hoped that the Popsicle did not hurt Marie. He really liked him. He also noticed that Kitty had walked in with the new kid Alex. Storm had explained to everyone that Alex was Scott’s younger brother. It seemed that the both of them had gone into the orphanage when Scott was 7 and Alex was 3. Alex was adopted by a nice family while Scott remained until his powers developed and Charles took him in. Alex’s powers developed about 3 months ago. It seemed like he had the ability to use the energy around him to push things back. Logan really did not know that much about him because he had not went out of his way to get to know the kid. He really did not feel the desire to since his brother and he did not get along. He was sure the kid knew about it and did not like him. He also looked around the room and noticed that Hank just came in. He was always late for dinner. He worked up until the last minute down in the lab. Logan did not blame him though. If it wasn’t for the fact that Storm assigned duty, he wouldn’t even show up at all. He was a loner and liked it that way. He watched as Hank got his food and headed in his direction. He really did not want Hank to sit with him but hey he was not going to be mean. He really liked the fur ball. Hank placed his plate down and sat down. “How are you today my friend?”
“I’m alright. Food is good tonight. Petey is one mean cook. Trying to get full tomorrow Jubilee is cooking.”
“Don’t ruin it for me so early. Her cooking really makes me miss the old days.”
“Why is that?”
“When I first came here since there was not that many students we had a personal cook named Betty. She was one damn good cook. She could make about anything you could want.”
“You have been with the X-Men for a while. How old were you when you first came here?”
“I was sixteen. That was when the blue fur began to appear. I began my mutation at around 12. That was when I gained some of my strength, agility, and big size. But that was not that big of a problem. It allowed me to be a football player. When the fur began to grow it scared the hell out of my mom and my dad. My dad was a doctor and he examined me from top to bottom and found there was nothing wrong with me. He sent me to another friend of his who was a doctor that specialized in rare childhood diseases. He explained that there was nothing wrong with me and it seemed that there had been some other children that were displaying some weird things. He told my dad about this place. It seems that the professor was good friends with my dad’s friend and he had told him that if any kids came up with these gifts to give him a call. Dad sent me here and the rest is history.”
“Who was here when you first got here?”
“Jean came when she was 12 so she was here before me. Scott also came when he was 12 so he was here before me. Ororo was here long before me. She was the first of the students. After me there were several other students.”
“You said there were other kids here when you got here. Who were they?”
“Jean was here. So were Scott, and Ororo. There were two other girls named Carol and Emma. There was another guy named Sean. We were a pretty good group and got along. Well some of us did.”
“So what was everyone’s powers?”
“Well you know what mine, Jean, Scott, and Ororo powers are. Carol had super human strength. Emma was a mind reader like the professor. Sean gave off a super sonic scream.”
“What happened to everyone?”
“Emma left. Sean went back to Scotland after he gained control of his powers. While Carol had super human strength she was not able to stop a bullet. She was killed by anti-mutant group. That is what lead Emma and Magneto to leave the X-Men. It also made Storm really begin to distrust regular humans even more.”
“Storm distrusted humans before then?”
“Yeah none of the students knew why she did not get along with the regular people; we just knew she was different. No one really knew that much about her at all. We all would share our stories but her. All we knew was she was the first and the one that started Charles to want to start this school.” There was a break in talk while Hank ate some food. “Speaking of Ororo. Where is she?”
“I don’t know. She hasn’t come in yet.”
“I bet you she is still working. That woman will work herself to death if we let her. I’ll fix her a plate and take it to her office. Maybe that will make her eat.”
“No I have to go see her anyway, I’ll fix it. And I promise you I will make her eat.” Logan got up and fixed Storm a plate. He wasn’t sure what she liked so he put a little bit of everything on it. He walked out of the dinning hall and started down to her office. He opened the door without even knocking. “Ok Boss lady. I know you are working hard but that is no reason not to…” He stopped mid sentence when he noticed her head lying on her desk. She was sound asleep. He figured that she had not rested in hours. He put the food in the mini frig that was by her desk. He noticed that she had fallen asleep while working on some of the things they were supposed to work on later. He saw that she had two piles of bills. She also had a list of things that needed to be paid including teachers’ salaries. He knew that she said that these things had to be done tonight. He didn’t want to wake her. He grabbed the things off the desk and took a seat on the couch. He looked over everything that needed to be done and knew it was possible to get it finished but it was going to take a while. “Guess I’m up for a long night. This will teach me to offer to help anyone again.” He opened up everything and went to work.

Chapter 3:

Ororo was still asleep at her desk when morning arose. She was currently in the middle of a dream. She really didn’t understand what was going on. She was standing in a dirty hut. Surrounding her were some very young girls. These girls didn’t look to be much over six. All of them looked absolutely terrified. She could hear a man shouting in a language she recognized to be from her mother’s homeland. However, she didn’t know what was said. It had been years since she had heard the language and she had honestly forgot it. She could not see the man because he was hidden behind a closed door. She did however understand what happened next. She heard the screams of a young girl behind the door with the man. The young girl was screaming in English. “Please don’t, it hurts. Stop it.” Ororo ran to the door when she heard, “Someone please help.” She flung open the door but she couldn’t see anything. She was blinded by a bright light that reminded her of lightening. Her head shot off the desk when she heard a loud boom. She prepared herself, fearing the mansion was under attack but relaxed when she saw the lightening flash and heard the thundered boom. She realized the weather was reacting to her emotions brought on by the nightmare. The more she calmed down the more the weather did. “I must have fallen asleep waiting on Logan.” She looked at her desk clock. “12:30. I should have knew that he would not show up. He offers to help then does not even show up. That lousy son of a …” She stops mid sentence when she looked over at the couch. She sees Logan sound asleep on the couch. She noticed that in his lap was the budget book and calculator. He had a pencil in one hand and a bill in another. Scattered around him was all the bills she had on her desk. He had honestly fallen asleep working. She walked over to him and eased the book off his lap. While it may not have been the neatest job, his work was very detailed. He added up every deposit that had been made and added it to last months total to get the current amount. He had written out every bill that had been paid and subtracted it from the current budget. He was working on things to be paid when he had fallen asleep. It all really completely amazed her. She was startled out of her thoughts by a gruff voice behind her. “So what you think boss lady?”
“I was thinking that I’m surprised you did all of this.”
“Well I know it isn’t exactly the neatest thing in the world but hell I understand it so I figure anyone should.”
“No it’s fine. Easy to follow and to the point. Listen, I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for?”
“I was thinking some pretty bad things about you before.”
“What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that I was stupid to trust you and to believe that you were willing to help me. I feel like a total fool.”
“We all make mistakes. If you will hand me the book, I will finish up and you can figure out what else you need.”
“Ok. Thank you Logan.”
She handed Logan back the book and allowed him to get back to work. She returned to her desk and was finishing up what was left over to turn into the department of education. She was in the middle of working when she heard the book slam closed. “Well, I’m done. You now know exactly how much money we have in the bank after paying everything we have to. Now you can make out your shopping list.”
He handed her over the notebook and she opened it. “Wow, I didn’t realize we had this much left over. We will be able to eat good. Speaking of eating, I’m absolutely starved but I missed supper. I wonder if anything left in the fridge.”
“Not sure if there is but I brought you up something from the dinning hall earlier. It’s in the mini fridge. Figured if you were going to eat anything I had better get it for you then because it would be gone later. Pete cooked.” He watched as Ororo opened the box with the food in it. “I wasn’t sure what you would eat so I just went ahead a got a little of everything.”
“That is fine. It all looks so good and with Pete making it I know it will be. I don’t think that I can thank you enough for everything you have done.”
“You don’t have to thank me for anything Storm, I’m willing to help. So did you have a good nap?”
“Actually I didn’t. I was restless. I was in the middle of a nightmare when I woke up.”
“Really what was it about?”
“You know I honestly don’t remember.”
“Then how do you know it was a nightmare?”
“Because I was awaken by the sound of thundered. The weather was mirroring my emotions.”
“Well maybe it’s best that you don’t remember. Well, I’ll see you around Boss lady.”
Logan turned to walk out. “Logan wait. I was wondering if you could help me out tomorrow. There are some things that I have to get that are pretty heavy at the store and I’m going to need some help picking it up. Could you do it for me?”
“I swear do one nice thing for someone and the next thing you know you will be expected to do everything.”
“Sorry to ask you.”
“Storm I’m just kidding you. I would be happy to help you out. Just give me a call when you are ready to go and I’ll be there. Goodnight Storm. Rest easy.”
“Goodnight Logan.”
Logan walked out of the room. Ororo stayed and finished up just a few things, then turned in for the night.

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 4: With My eyes Closed

Logan woke up early to get in his morning run before breakfast. He hurried and dressed in his lose shorts, tank, and running shoes. He ran down the stairs and headed toward the kitchen. He heard the sound of glasses clicking together and the smell of fruit mixed together. He walked in and was surprised to find Ororo standing in the kitchen wearing some short black shorts, a grey tank top with a large “X” on it and a pair of running shoes. He went to the fridge and pulled out his next to last beer. He made a mental note to get some today when Storm and he went to get some groceries. “So, what you got there bosslady?”

“A fruit power smoothie. It’s really good. You should try it sometime.”

“I think I’ll stick with what I got. So, you going for a run?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“Just not used to seeing you up this early.”

“”Usually I’m up earlier. I like to get my run in, shower, and dress before all the students get up. I was so tired though from having to get everything ready last night that I overslept.” She paused for a second. “I just want to say thank you for all your help last night. I really don’t think I would have gotten everything done if it wasn’t for you.”

“You don’t have to thank me again. Like I said last night, I’m glad to help and if you ever need me for anything again, just ask. I mean come on; I’m willingly going shopping today so that must show you I would do anything.”

Ororo cracked a smile at Logan. “I suppose you are right.” She finished her drink. “I’m going to head on out.”

Logan finished up his beer and followed after her. “You want some company in your run today?”

“I don’t know Logan. I don’t really like to do just a leisurely run first thing in the morning.”

“I don’t leisurely run any time darlin’. How about this, if you don’t want to run together how about we make it into a contest to see who is the better runner.”

“I don’t know Logan. I can run pretty fast when I put my mind to it. I would hate to hurt your male pride by beating you.”

“Do you honestly think that you can out run me?”

“It’s possible.”

“Only if you fly.”

“You are being quiet cocky.”

“You’re not being much better bosslady.” Logan got a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “How about this, I bet you that I can out run you. And if I win you have to do what ever I ask but if you win, I have to do what ever you ask.”

Storm got a concerned look on her face. “I’m not sure about that Logan.”

“What’s wrong bosslady; scared I’ll prove you wrong?”

“No that’s not it. Just worried about how you will handle being beat by me and then everyone finding out since you will be my beck and call boy.” She began to think. “How about this. The loser buys the winner lunch today when we go out.”

“Not to bad an idea bosslady. I’ll just have to think about where I want to go eat after. I think I’m in the mood for steak.” He extended his hand for her to shake.

She extended hers and shook his hand. “It doesn’t matter to me where we go eat. I just hope you bring a really big wallet because I can be a big eater.”

“So am I darlin’” They both got in the position to start. “Alright Bosslady. Ready, Set, Go.”

With that both Logan and Ororo took off. Logan got a pretty good advance on her. He looked back and saw that it looked like Storm was only running a steady jog. He knew there was no way that she could win if she kept this up. “Hey I can taste that free steak already. If I had known this would be this easy I would have kept the original bet.”

“Don’t worry about me Logan. You haven’t won just yet.” She continued to run. She was not going to let Logan try to psyche her out. She knew what she was doing. She knew she had a chance to win. All she had to do was be patient.

Logan felt himself being to relax. He closed his eyes and started concentrating on his breathing. For anyone else running with their eyes closed would have been an impossible task but not for Logan. He actually felt that he ran better with his eyes closed. It allowed him relax and concentrate on other things. He knew the area so well that he wasn’t concerned about anything coming up in his way. Plus he knew it would be such a better feeling if he was able to win against Ororo with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and saw that he was right back where they stared. “Yes I knew I could do it.” He turned around and did not see Ororo any where. “No Storm in sight.”

He heard a voice that snapped his attention to the chair on the deck. “If you would have kept your eyes open while you were running you would have noticed that I passed you after we passed the big tree.”

“You had to have cheated.” He noticed that Ororo had a smirk on her face. “That’s it isn’t it. You used your powers and flew ahead of me. That’s the only way you could have bet me.”

“Logan I did not use my powers. I used my brain.” She noticed the look of disbelief of Logan’s face. “Let me put it this way. When we started off I noticed that you started off at full speed. It’s natural body chemistry. When you start off fast, you burn up a large amount of energy. There is no way that your body can keep up that beginning speed. However, if you start off slow and build up your speed as you run, then you actually are able to cover a larger distance at a faster time. Maybe you should sit in on a few of my physics classes.”

“I’m still not convinced that you didn’t use your powers.”

“I can only give you my word Logan that I did not use any of my powers to win this race. Whether or not you believe me however does not change the fact that I won and you lost. It also does not change the fact that you owe me lunch. I’ll see you at 11:30 and don’t forget to bring your wallet.”

She turned and went back in the mansion. He sat down in the chair that she had just vacated and buried his face in his hands, still in disbelief that he had gotten beaten by a girl.

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 5: Please

Ororo was sitting at her desk doing some work when she heard a knock at her door. “Please come in.” Her door opened and in walked Marie, Kitty, and one of the newest additions to the mansion, Jubilee. “Hello, ladies, how can I help you?”

“We heard that you were going into town today. Is that true?"

“I sure am. Why do you want to know?”

“Well, we were wondering if you did not mind could we tag along.”

“I’m only going to the grocery store ladies”

“But the mall is on the way.”

“Jubilee you just went to the mall last week. Do you really need to go again this week?”

“Storm you do realize that you are talking about Jubilee. She is doing good to go a couple of days without going to the mall.”

“Yeah, Storm shopping is my life.”

“I will allow you to go but there are two things you must do before I will let you go.”

“We will do anything.”

“First thing is that you must stop calling me Storm when we are not on a mission. Here I’m Ms. Monroe.”

“Of course Storm, I mean Ms. Monroe. What else is it that you want us to do?”

“Well I’m not the only person that is going on this shopping trip. Since he is going to be driving me, you have to go talk that person into taking you to the mall.”

Kitty spoke up. “Why do I get the feeling that we are not going to want to ask this person?”

“Well as long as the person we have to ask is not the Wolvester, we should be fine.”

“Jubilee if you want Logan to take you I would not recommend that you call him “The Wolvester” when you ask him. You know how he hates nicknames.” She went back to typing on the computer. “By the way we will be leaving in an hour so if you are going to ask him you had better hurry.”

The girls walked out the door. “Good job Jubilee. We are never going to get Mr. Logan to agree to take us to the mall. He hates that place worse than anything.”

“Shut up Kitty. I know how much he hates it so we have to come up with a plan that will make him want to take us.”

“The only way Logan will agree to take us is if someone that he really likes talk to him.”

“That’s a great idea Marie and I know the perfect person.”

“Who?”

“You.”

“Me”

“Yeah you. You said it yourself that he would willing do it for someone he likes. There is no one in this mansion that he likes more than you. Hell you are practically family to him. He would do anything for you.”

“I’m not sure. We haven’t been that close since I gave up my powers. Plus he hasn’t been close to anyone since he killed Jean. I think it all really affected him.”

“Well I don’t know anything about the Jean thing cause I wasn’t around but I’m telling you that you are our only hope Marie. Please go talk to him.”

“Ok, I’ll try.” Marie walked downstairs looking for Wolverine. She had no idea where he could be until she saw that the Danger Room was being used. She ran up to the control room hoping to get him to come out and talk with her. She ran in and slammed the door.

“What the hell do you think you are doing slamming that door?” She was surprised to find that Logan was in the control room watching Bobby do a drill.

“Sorry Logan. I didn’t mean to slam it. I just closed it too hard. What are you doing up here? I thought that you were the one in the danger room.”

“Nope, watching Bobby so I can give a report to the boss lady about how he is doing. Got to do one on all of the X-Kids so we can know how they will do on a mission. So what do you need?”

“I was hoping that I could talk to you.”

Logan looked surprised. “What about?”

“Anything. You know you and I have not been as close as we were before I gave up my powers and I kind of miss that relationship that we had before.”

“So have I. There were some things I was wondering about.”

“Like…”

“Like what is going on with you and Bobby. Last I knew anything you and he couldn’t be separated and just yesterday at dinner I noticed that you didn’t come in together, you didn’t sit together, and you didn’t even talk to each other. What’s going on? The dickhead hasn’t hurt you?”

“No nothing like that. We just had a fight about some things but we talked about it and everything is a lot better now. As a matter of fact I have a favor I need to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Well I was hoping to be able to get Bobby something as my way of saying I’m sorry and to do that I need to go to the mall. So I need…”

“You need me to drive you and some of your friends to the mall so you can pick something out for your boyfriend that I don’t even like. Let me ask you, who put you up to asking me to do this?”

“Well Jubilee really wanted to go. So she went and asked Storm and she said that it would be up to you since you were the one who would be driving.”

“Storm huh…” He hit the speaker button so he could talk to Bobby. “Ok Bobby good job today. I’ll have a written report to give you about what all I thought about what you did for you tomorrow. You are free to go.” He turned back to Marie “I’ll have to go talk to Storm about a few things.” He turned and walked to the door.

“But are you going…” Before she could finish he had slammed the door. “Take us. And he fusses at me about the door.”

Logan stalked down the hall and went straight to Ororo’s office. He barged into her office. “What the hell is the deal?”

Ororo was on the phone. She looked at Logan with a very annoyed look on her face. “Would you please hold one minute, Sir? Someone just barged in my office.” She placed her hand over the phone to allow her to talk to Logan in private. “As you can see I’m on the phone with someone very important. So you will have to wait until I’m done before you can cuss me out.” She uncovered the receiver. “I’m so sorry. As I was saying, despite what you have heard about us we are not using the school as some kind of front to have time to train mutants for a secrete superhero group.” She paused for a second. “Yes, I’m willing to admit that I’m the leader of the group called the X-Men but I’m not using this group to train the X-Men. All training for this group is done after school hours and on the weekend.” She paused again. “Well I’m not sure who you get your information from Senator but you are more than welcome to come on any school day and visit and I can promise you that you will see my school being run as a school should be. Now if you will please excuse me I have to have a meeting with my teachers.” Storm hung the phone up. “Now if you ever just barge in my office again, I will just send a bolt up your ass instead of asking you to wait. Will you kindly explain why in the hell you came in here like that?”

“Yeah I will tell you boss lady. What is this I hear from Rogue about you telling me to take them to the mall?”

“First off Logan, I have a name. It’s Ororo. Try calling me it. Secondly, I did not tell the girls to tell you to take them. I told them that they would have to ask you if you were willing to take them to the mall when we leave to go to the grocery store.”

Logan realized that he had no reason to come in Storm’s office and yell at her. “I’m sorry. I just thought that you were trying to make me take them when it was not covenant.”

“Actually Logan you would not have to go out of your way. The mall is before you come to the store. Plus with having a few extra hands it will limit the time in which we will have to spend shopping for the supplies.”

“The only problem with your plan is the fact that if we take them to the mall, we will have to wait on them to get done and with Jubilee that could take hours.”

“Come on Logan. Take the girls. I’m sure there are things that you would like to look at. It would also give you the chance to make them look at you differently. They may actually begin to not be afraid of you.” She noticed the look he was giving her. “Okay maybe that is not the best thing to say. How about this? You owe me lunch out. I want to eat at TGIFridays and the only place one is, is at the mall.”

Logan ran his hands through his hair. “I guess I have no other choice when you put it that way.” He watched as Ororo shook her head no. “Alright I’ll take them.”

“Thank you. I’ll go tell them and meet you at the car.”

He watched as she walked out of the room. “Damn woman always seems to make me do everything I don’t want to.” He shook his head and walked out the door and went to the car to wait on everyone and head straight out to his own personal hell.

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 6: Lunch Date

Logan pulled into the entrance of the mall parking lot much to the squeals of the girls in the back seat. He let out an involuntary growl that signaled to the girls that they had better calm down. He found a parking place and was about to pull into it when this little punk in a BMW whopped into it. “That little Son of a Bitch.”

“Logan…”

“Well he knew that I was going to get that place and he thinks that just because his little punk ass has a fancy BMW that he has the right to cut people off. He should be lucky that I don’t jump and kick his damn ass right here in the parking lot.”

Storm answered his ranting with a stern voice. “Ranting, raving, and cussing like a mad man is not going to solve anything.”

“Well it pissed me off.”

“I know and I understand but it’s over and done with. Now just go find another parking place.” After riding around the mall for two times, he finally found a spot that was not in BFE. They walked into the mall entrance and the girls stopped and waited for Storm’s directions. “Alright, you have two hours to walk around and shop. Do not cause any trouble and if for any reason you run into any problem, you know how to get in touch with me. We will meet back here in the food court at 1:30.”

Jubilee grabbed Kitty’s and Marie’s hand. “If all we have is two hours, we had better get going. C-ya.”

Logan shook his head. “I don’t understand how one person can enjoy shopping so much.”

“She’s a teenage girl Logan. At least there can be some normalcy in her life.”

“Guess your right. So ya ready to go eat.”

“Yes I am. Thank you for asking.”

Logan and Ororo walked off together to the food court. They located TGYFridays and waited in the front on someone to seat them. Finally, someone came up and offered them a seat. “Would you like smoking or non-smoking?”

Logan spoke up first. “Non and could we get a booth?”

“Yes Sir. Right this way.” He ushered them back to a booth in the corner. “Here are the menus. Just look over it and your waiter will be right with you.”

He walked away and Ororo looked at Logan quite surprised. “What is darlin’?”

“I’m just surprised. I was sure you would have asked for smoking so you could enjoy one of your nice cigars.”

“Well, I know you don’t like smoking around you so I figured to be nice I would sit in non-smoking. I can wait until we get back to the mansion to smoke.”

“Thank you Logan for everything.”

“All I did was not sit in smoking.”

“No you have done so much more. I still have never forgotten you being there for me that night. I also have not forgotten that you wanted to leave on that night but didn’t because I asked you to stay.”

“Storm I’ve told you that you don’t have to keep on thanking me for stuff. I did it for you cause you’re my fried. I don’t have many of them, so I like to do nice things for the ones I got so I keep ‘em.”

She was about to comment back when the waiter came up. “My name is Mike and I’ll be your waiter. Are you ready to order or do you both need a minute?”

Logan spoke up. “I’m ready. Ro are you?”

“I’m ready. I’ll have the Grilled South Western Chicken Breast, Steamed Vegetables, a salad with the Fat Free Ranch dressing, and decaf sweet tea to drink.”

“And you sir?”
“I want a T-bone steak, rare, with fries; a loaded baked potatoes instead of a salad, and bring me a Canadian Beer.” The waiter walked away. “I thought you were going to order a huge steak. Instead, you get the chicken.”

“I was just kidding you Logan. I’m really not that much of a meat eater unless it is a hamburger. I hope I haven’t disappointed you with my order.”

“No darlin’ just expected you to get somem’ else.” He tried to think of anything to talk about with her. It hit him that he really didn’t know anything about her. “You know Ro, you are one of the only friends I got and I just realize I know nothing about you cept what little Hank has told me. So what’s the deal about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean where are you from?”

“New York.”

“I know where you are from now. I mean where were you born?”

“Still New York.”

“So you have lived your entire life in New York? That is impossible since there is a hint of an accent.”

“I have not lived in New York my entire life. I also lived in Cairo Egypt.”

“So is that were your parents were from?”

“No, my father lived in New York. My mother was from a small village in Africa.”

“If your parents lived two different continents away from each other, how did they meet?”

“My father was a reporter. He was assigned to do a report on different tribes in Africa for a magazine he was working for. While at one of the tribes, he was blessed to meet the tribal royalty. My mother was the princess of the tribe. My father had never seen anyone so beautiful so he wanted to date her. However, it was against tribal rules for a member of royalty to become involved with anyone outside of the tribe. Not only that but my mother was promised to another man. My mother though fell in love with my father and they would go sinking off together at night. My father though was called back to America to work on his report. He went and asked my mother to move to America with him and she agreed. When they moved here, they married, began a happy life, and had me.”

“So if your parents lived here, how did you live in Egypt?”

“My father was sent out there to do a report on a war that was going on. My mother did not want to stay in America alone, so she and I went with him.”

“Where are your parents now?”

“They died in Egypt. A plane hit the hotel that we were staying in. My parents and I were buried beneath the rubble. I was the only survivor. To this day I live with the scar of laying there and listening to my parents die slowly and painfully. That is the reason for my fear of enclosed places now. It takes me back to that day and those feelings”

Logan noticed that she got a sad look on her face. He also noticed that her eyes started turning bluish grey and the sky outside also took on the look of her eyes. He knew this is a topic that she just didn’t want to talk about. “I’m sorry. Listen if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll understand. I just wanted to get to know you. Hank has tried to tell me a little about you but he doesn’t know it all. He says you were a little guarded as a child.”

“I was very guarded but that is because I only remember bits and pieces of my life. I remember clearly the day my parents died but everything after that until Charles brought me to America is a blur. Charles helped me with some things. He worked with me on the day my parents died and has made it bearable.”

“How old were you when Charles brought you here?”

“I was seven years old but he found me in Africa when I was six. I was attempting to pick his pocket…”

Logan was shocked at what he heard. “Wait one second, did you say pick his pocket? As in steal his money?”

“Yes. When you are an orphan in Africa you do anything you think of to get money for food or you starve to death. Anyway, Charles said he felt a connection between him and me but didn’t know what it was. He tried to follow me but lost me and it took him a year to find me again. When he found me he realized that the thing that we had in common was a special gift. While they were not the same we both were different from the others in the world. He brought me back to America and the rest is history.”

"Wait, if Charles realized that you and he shared a special gift then that means you developed your powers at six."

"That's right. Charles however thougth that I developed them much earlier. As a matter of fact he thinks that the stress of my parents death caused my powers to develop much sooner."

"Why did he think that?"

"Because he said that on the day that my parents died a level 5 hurrican hit Florida, one of the largest earthquakes hit Calafornia, several volcanos errupted in Hawii, and a huge tidal wave hit China. Never in the history of the world has that many natural disatures happened at the same time. Charles felt it was me losing control."

"Wow. That's the reason you have to be in so much control." She nodded her head yes and he continued asking her questions. “Hank said you distrusted normal people. Why?”

“I would prefer not to talk about it. I’ll just say I had my reasons. I wish there was anything you could tell me about your life.”

“Me too darlin’ but someone felt it would be ok to steal my very identity. I just wish I knew why and who. But I can tell you this, if I ever find out I’ll gut them like” That thought was ended by the waiter bringing out the food.

They both ate in silence. After they finished their meal, Logan paid the check and they meet with the kids and left the mall to do their grocery shopping so they could head back home.

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 7: I Love this Bar

Logan was down stairs sitting in the living room watching the movie that Jubilee and Marie were watching. He didn’t have a single idea what the point of the movie was. All he knew there was some guy that had moved into a house only to find out that it was being haunted by a ghost and come to find out she wasn’t a ghost but was really some doctor in a coma. Marie was the first to speak up. “I bet you he will fall in love with her.”

“You know he will. It wouldn’t be a great movie if he didn’t. I just hope that they can convince her sister to not pull the plug.” They heard Logan huff in response. “What’s wrong Logan? You don’t like our choice in movies.”

"It’s a chick flick which means it will end the same as it always does. The girl will fall in love with the guy. The guy will fall in love with the girl. The only difference with this movie is that the girl is in a coma. I’ll even bet you that he wakes her up by kissing her.”

“If you don’t like the movie then why are you even watching it with us?”

“Because I’m waiting on…”

Jubilee interrupted what he was saying. “Wow, Storm you look hot as hell.”

Logan turned and his mouth dropped. Ororo was standing there wearing a tight pair of hip hugging blue jeans and a tight black tank top that showed off just enough mid-drift to be tempting. “Thank you Jubilee but I thought we have already discussed that around here I’m Ms. Monroe not Storm and please watch your language.”

“Sorry but you do look hot. Where are you going dressed like that? Got a hot date?”

“Actually I do.”

“So who is the hot stud?”

Logan spoke up. “I am. You want to make something of it kid?”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Actually Kitty, Logan is right. I am going out with him tonight. So the three of you young ladies are in charge of the younger students. I have already talked with them and they have been warned that if I hear that they have given you any trouble, then they will have me to deal with when I get home.” She turned around right as the girls were high fiving each other and looked at Logan. “I’m ready when ever you are.”

“Well, let’s hit the road darlin. Hope you don’t mind but were taken the bike.”

“Figured as much. Let’s go.” Ororo and Logan both put on their leather jackets and walked out the door, leaving a stunned group of girls behind them.

“Who would have thought it, Miss Monroe and Mr. Logan?”

Jubilee was the first to speak up. “We don’t know that they are going out on a real date or just socially. They are co-workers.”

“Stop getting all upset Jubilee. We know you have a huge crush on Logan but we know and you know he just thinks of you as a kid. The same as me and Kitty. I personally think him and Storm would make a cute couple.”

“She is just so different from him.”

“You know what they say, opposites attract.”

---

Logan and Ororo drove all through the City. Ororo had no idea where they were going. Logan was taking her down roads that she had never seen. Right before they drove clean across the city, Logan pulled into a side of the road bar. Ororo got off the bike and pulled off the helmet that Logan had given so she could get a better look around. The first thing that she noticed was the name Harry’s Bar was on the front lit up in bright red lights. Logan noticed that Ororo was a little apprehensive to go in. He took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. “Darlin’ aint nobody in this place gonna bit ya.”

“I’m not worried about anyone biting me. Remember, I bit back.” To prove her point she sent a small electric shock through Logan.

“Shit. You got to remember boss lady I’m lined with metal and when you do that it hurts like hell.” He dropped her hand and put his in his pockets. “Come on.”

Logan and Ororo walked into the bar. They walked across the room with everyone shouting greetings to Logan. Each time someone would call out, Logan would wave and tell them hey, calling everyone by name. They walked up to the bar and the bartender walked up. “The usual Logan?”

“Yeah. What you want darlin’?”

“What kind of wine do you carry?”

“They don’t sell wine here Ro. Just give her what I’m haven’.”

“Two beers comen’ up.”

“You must come here often.”

“Yeah it’s my home away from home. Listen darlin’ you need to lighten up. Just have fun tonight.”

“Here you are Logan. Just signal when you want more.”

“You know I will.” Logan and Ororo sat back and watched the couples on the dance floor. Ororo felt herself beginning to relax. Despite what she had told Logan, she was nervous to come in here. Every where she went she knew exactly how to act. She had been able to study the culture, know what was expected of her. Here though she was completely out of her element. She felt as though everyone was staring at her. After all these years she felt like she should be used to people looking at her. It’s not every day that you see an African American woman with natural white hair and blue eyes. As she sat here drinking and laughing with Logan, she felt like she has been around these people for years. She noticed Logan finished up his sixth beer and was signaling for another. She was on her second and was beginning to feel the effects.

“How many can you drink before you start feeling drunk?”

“I never get drunk. My healing process stops it before it happens. For me drinking beer is like you drinking water.”

Harry walked up to them bring Logan his beer. “Wasn’t sure if you would like another miss.”

“No I’ve had my limit. Could you just bring me some water?”

“Yes maam. Also Logan I thought I would warn you, Lisa is here.”

“Shit. Thanks for the warning.”

Harry walked away to get Ororo’s water. “So who is Lisa?”

“This girl I was nice to one night. I came and was drinking and watching people dance like I do every night. Any way, I saw her dancing on the floor with some of her friends when I saw some guy approach her. He kept on harassing her to dance with him and I got tired of it. I went up told the guy that she said no and things got physical between the two of us so I had to kick the guy’s ass. That night Lisa developed a little crush on me and I can’t get the girl to leave me alone. Even told her that I have been daten’ a girl for bout three months now but she won’t lay off.”

“Do you see her any where around?”

“Yeah she’s the blonde over there.”

She looks over in the direction he is pointing. “She’s pretty. Why don’t you give her a chance?”

“Cause I aint interested.”

“Well maybe she won’t see you. The place is busy. If you wouldn’t mind point me in the direction of the lady’s room.” She took off in the direction he pointed. She finally found it, waited in line for what felt like hours and after ten minutes she headed back to where she had left Logan. She found however he was not alone. Lisa has found Logan and was trying to pull him out onto the dance floor. She noticed that Logan had a look on his face like he was begging anyone to help him. She felt as though she owed it to him to find a way to help. After all, he did bring her here tonight to help her out. She could think of only one way to help him. She marched herself through the crowed right up to where Logan and Lisa was. “Logan, baby here you are.” When Logan turned around, Ororo grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for a long kiss. She felt the tension and shock release out of his body and after a little bit of “real” kissing she released him. The look on his face was pore shock. “Honey why didn’t you wait on me at the bar.”

“Ro…”

Lisa interrupted Logan. “Who is this woman?”

“Oh I’m sorry let me introduce myself.” She stretched out her hand to Lisa. “I’m Ororo Monroe. Logan’s girlfriend and you are?”

“Lisa. How long have y’all been going out?”

“Two months.”

“I haven’t seen you here, especially with him.”

“Well I have been really busy with work.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did the two of you meet?”

“We actually meet at work. We teach together.”

“You’re a teacher Logan.”

He still was stunned by the kiss that Ororo had laid on him. “Yeah, I’m head of the athletic department and teach gym.”

“And I’m head of the English and History department. This was the first night I could get away without having to grade papers so I told Logan I would love to see his home away from home.” She turned back around and wrapped her arms around Logan’s neck and looked up at him seductively. “And now that I have, I would like to show you my appreciation at home, alone, in our bed. What do you say we get out of here?” She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

He was extremely shocked Ororo’s behavior and all he could get out was “Alright.”

Ororo turned and smiled at Lisa. “It was really nice meeting you.”

With that Logan and Ororo walked out of the bar together arm and arm. When they made it to his bike Logan was the first to speak. “Not that I’m complaining darlin’ but what the hell went on in there?”

“Seeing is believing. When I came out of the bathroom I noticed that Lisa had you cornered and you had this please help me look on your face, so I figured that I would help you out. What better way to get a girl to leave you alone, then to show her you are already taken.”

Logan smiled at her. “You know you got yourself in some trouble. Now your gonna have to come to Harry’s more often and pretend to be my girl.”

“That’s alright with me. I like it here.” She put on her helmet. “Let’s head on home. I’m ready to get in bed.” Logan climbed on the bike and Ororo wrapped her arms around him. He wasn’t sure what they had gotten themselves into but he was sure this was one game of pretend he was going to enjoy.

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 8:

Logan leaned against the wall while he watched his self-defense class work. This was his last group of the day and was ready to get his long weekend ready. He noticed that several of the students were getting the moves he had taught them all wrong. “Hey, everyone stop what you are doing.” He moved to the middle of the gym. “There is no way that y’all will pass this class if you can’t even do a normal leg sweep and get your opponent off their feet.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to end class here.” He heard the sounds of joy come from the students. “Before any of you get too happy, while class is ending, you have work to do during your break. I’m going to pair y’all with some of my advanced students. Okay, let’s see. Jubilee and Allie y’all work with Kitty. Sarah and Betsy y’all are with Marie. Alex and Warren y’all are with Bobbie. Lance and Allen y’all are with Petey. You are to work with them every day until you have the four moves I showed you down pat by Monday. I’ll go ahead and tell you that every one of you needs work and a lot of it. I don’t care how many times you meet with your person as long as you get the moves by Monday. It’s also your responsibility to get with your person; they will not hunt you down. If y’all want to be X-Men, it’s time you start acting like one. Class is over. Get out.”

Logan slumped down the wall in pure exhaustion. It was time like this when he didn’t understand why he had even agreed to take on the classes. It was times like this he had no idea why he had stayed on. Right now all he wanted to do was be on the back of his bike, riding through the woods in Canada, just enjoying being free. Instead, he was sitting on his ass telling kids what to do and trying to teach them to fight. He knew why he stayed, Ro. That night when she broke down in front of him, he knew he couldn’t leave her. She was one lady that he couldn’t figure out. He thought he had her all figured out up until that night at Harry’s. He was sure that she was going to hate everything about that night. She seemed more like the Opera and champagne kind of girl, not a country bar and beer kind. She was full of surprises, especially when she kissed him. He could still taste the sweetness of her lips. She tasted like honey. He was stroking his bottom lip when he heard a voice come from the door. “Where’s all your students Logan?”

He looked up and found Ororo standing in the door. “Weren’t getting anywhere with them. They were too excited about getting a few days off. So I let them go. Notice you’re not with your class.”

“Kitty’s watching them. They had to finish up a pop quiz. Told them after they finished, they could leave.”

He got up off the floor and gave her a half smile. “Guess we had the same idea.” As he moved toward her he caught the scent of someone else, someone he didn’t know. “You gonna introduce me.”

“Yes Logan, this is Sean Cassidy. Sean this is Logan. He is the head of our physical ed. Department.”

Logan extends his hand. “I teach ‘em to fight. What you do?”

Sean takes his hand and shakes. “I scream loud. I’m going to take over the European Studies for Ororo.”

“Well welcome to the nut house. Boss lady, when you get done leading the new kid around, can I talk with you?”

“Yes, meet me in my office in an hour.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Logan walked away from the two of them. “Is he always like that?”

“Logan is very direct and says what he thinks but he is very good at what he does.”

“His mutation?”

“He has an advanced healing factor. He seems to have animalistic senses. He can see, hear, taste, and smell anything. Also, despite his bulky frame he is amazingly agile when fighting and is very good at it. He knows every type of fighting style that there is. He is truly a great addition to the mansion.”

“If you say so Storm. So what is this room?”

“Well to the untrained eye it’s just a gym but as you remember nothing is what it seems.” She walked inside as he followed. “It is also a training room. A student or member of the team can come in here and practice fighting any known threat or member of the team that they wish. It allows us to practice ways to approach situations. We can activate it by calling out a command or by using the control panel up there.” She pointed toward the ceiling where he saw a room behind a window. “Next time we have a simulation, I’ll invite you to watch.” She hit the button which opened the door. “I’ll finish showing you around the school now.”

---

Ororo and Sean walked up to her office door. “And we’re back where we started.” She opened the door and found Logan asleep on the couch. “Darn man.”

“I’ll wake him up.”

Sean went and pushed on Logan’s shoulder. He heard Storm yell out. “Look out.” He jumped back just about the time Logan’s clawed fist was going to meet his face.

“What the hell?”

“Sorry Sean, Logan hates to be awaken suddenly.”

“He has claws coming out of his hands.”

“I forgot to tell you he also has adamatium running through his body and that he has metal claws coming out of his hands.”

“There is no way he could have been born like that.”

“Your right bub. I wasn’t bon like this. Some group of scientist thought it would be a good idea to use me as a gianne pig. They pumped my body full of adamantium to see what it would do. They knew that it wouldn’t kill me because of my healing factor and these…”He held up his hands with the claws fully seen. “were the results. Now you can understand why I don’t like to be woke up suddenly.”

“Yes I understand.” He turned back to Ororo. “Thank you for bringing me back on board Ororo. I promise I’ll do my best.” He turned back to Logan. “It was nice to meet you.”

“Yeah you too.” Logan watched as Sean walked out the door. When he was sure he was far enough away he smiled at Ororo. “Where did you find him at?”

“Sean was a former student here. He came back as a favor to me. Now I only have to find someone who will take over my English classes and I’ll be down to four classes a day. With all my duties, I feel that will be manageable.” She walked to her desk and sat down. “Now what can I do for you Logan?”

“Well I was hoping I could talk into going out with me tonight.”

“Where to?”

“You know where. I think it’s time we make another visit to Harry’s.”

“Logan, I’m not sure…”

“Come on Ro. Loosen up and come with me. You said that you had a good time last time.”

“I did but…”

“No buts. We don’t have school again until Monday. That gives you five days to get everything ready that you need for then. Let’s go out and have a good time tonight. I’ll buy you a beer and may even let you beat me at a game of pool.”

“Let me beat you. You don’t have to let me do anything. I’ll beat you far and square.”

“So that means…”

“I’ll meet you at 8:30 downstairs.”

“I’ll be waitin’” Logan walked out the door and left Ororo to finish up her work.

---

Ororo and Logan got to Harry’s by 9:30. They noticed that there were less people then there was Friday night but there were more people than they thought would be there for a Wednesday. They went up to the bar and Harry came up to help them. “Surprised to see you tonight Logan. You usually don’t come unless it’s Friday or Saturday. What brings you here tonight with this lovely lady again?”

“School’s out till Monday. Ro and I figured that we would come out and relax after dealin’ with a bunch of kids all day. You a lot busier than I thought you’d be on a Wednesday.”

“We’re always busy on Wednesdays. It’s Karaoke night. I’ll get y’all two beers.”

Harry walked away and got a few more orders before getting their beers. “Great, just what I wanted to do, come to a bar and listen to a bunch of untalented, drunk people sing.”

“Come on Logan, it could be fun to listen. At least you will have laugh.”

“Guess your right darlin’.” He got the beer Harry was handing him. “Thanks.” He looked and noticed that all the pool tables were taken. “We’ll just have to wait here until a table opens.”

“Fine with me.”

They sat back and watched the people on the dance floor. H noticed that Lisa was there dancing with another man. He caught her making eyes with him so he leaned over and gave Ro a kiss on the check. She turned and looked at him surprised. He nodded his eyes over in Lisa’s direction and Ororo’s eyes followed. She reached out, grabbed his free hand, and laid her head on his shoulder. He noticed that their public display affection had also made a man stop dead in his tracks that was on his way in their direction. Logan could only guess that he way on his way to ask Ro something. He didn’t know why but he was glad the man walked away. He noticed that one of the tables was opened. He grabbed her hand and led her over to the table. He handed her a pool stick. “Why don’t we make a deal. Loser of the best of three has kitchen duty next week.”

“Sounds good to me. Hope you enjoy washing dishes.”

“It will be you who is washing all the dishes.”

He broke the balls and they played. Two games later they were tied. Ororo had a cocky smile on her face. “What’s wrong? The mighty Wolverine thought that he would bet me right quick.”

“You were just lucky the last game.”

“Lucky? I kicked your butt fair and square and after I bet you in this game, you will be in the kitchen all next week. I bet you’ll look so cute in little pink apron.”

“Shut up and let’s play.” They started the game and kept on playing until Logan was left to get the eight ball in. “Get ready darlin’ as soon as I sink this ball, you’ll be in front of the sink for a week.”

Ororo watched with held breath as she watched the ball head straight to the corner pocket. A smile stretched across as she watched it hit the side and bounce in front of the pocket and come to a complete stop. She watched as Logan mouthed the word damn. She leaned across the table and tapped the ball and watched as it went in the pocket. She looked at Logan’s down cast eyes and felt bad. “Sorry, Logan. Guess I was just lucky.”

“Yeah you were. Don’t worry about it, Ro. You won fair and square. At least I can use the dish washer.”

She and Logan busted out laughing. “Come on; let’s watch some drunk people make a fool of themselves.”

She linked her arm in with Logan’s. They walked up to the front of the stage and watched as a group of girls sang “Before He Cheats” extremely off key. They watched as three more groups got up there and sang. Ororo had done drank her fourth beer by that point and feeling every bit of the alcohol. Logan decided that that it might be a good idea to pay her back for beating him at pool. “I think that you could do so much better than these other girls.”

“Me go up there and sing. I’m not that drunk yet.”

“Come on Ro. I’ve heard you sing around the mansion, you’re good.”

“I’m not saying I’m not good but I’m not going up there to sing. Besides, I don’t know many country songs.”

“I’m sure they have one that you know. Go on up there and sing.” Each time she would say no, he would tell her to go up there. Finally he said. “If you go up there, I’ll go.”

“What?”

“You heard me. If you go up there now, then I’ll go up there later.”

“Ok, I’ll do it.” She went up on the stage and looked through the list of songs and picked out one she knew. She listened as the announcer told the audience who she was. She walked out on the stage. “Ok people, this is one of my favorites. Hope you like it.”
The music started up and Ororo brought the mike up to her mouth.

“I need to go shopping
These shoes are all wrong
Just look in my closet
Not a thing to put on
I wonder how these jeans make me look from behind
Things that never cross a man's mind

Lets turn off the tv
Now can't we just talk
Lets lay here and cuddle
Til we both drift off
If we don't make love
That'll be just fine
Things that never cross a man's mind

That joke is too dirty
This steak is too thick
Ain't no way in the world I'll ever finish it
That car is too fast
This beer is too cold
And watchin’ all this football is sure getting old
Wish I was workin this weekend
Not on the lake reelin’ my line
Things that never cross a man's mind.”


Logan watched as she got all into the song. He noticed that she started putting movements to the song and he also noticed she was really good.


“Her lips are too red
Her skirt is too tight
Her legs are too long
And her heels are too high
Boy, she looks like the marryin kind
Things that never cross a man's mind

That joke is too dirty
This steak is too thick
Ain't no way in the world I'll ever finish it
That car is too fast
This beer is too cold
And watchin all this football is sure getting old
Wish I was workin this weekend
Not on the lake reelin my line
Things that never cross a man's mind

I feel a little bloated
I think I'm fixin to start
That movie was good except for the violent parts
Brad Pitt is sexy
Why did he change his hair
I knew him and Jenny never had a prayer
These curtains clash with the carpet
The color scheme is a crime
Things that never cross a man's mind
Things that never cross a man's mind”


She got done with the song and the crowded went wild. Logan clapped and whistled his response. She got off the stage and went right into Logan’s arms. She heard the announcer asking for more singers. “Ok I held up my end. Now you go on up.”

“I ain’t going up there. I said I would sing but I didn’t say when. You were really good darlin’ but you should have made me go first.”

“That was a dirty trick Logan.”

“I know but it worked.” He finished up his beer. “Come on darlin’, let’s go home.” He put his arm around her waist and led her out the door. He helped her into the car and headed back home.

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 9

Logan pulled his motorcycle into the space that was reserved for him in the garage of the mansion. He looked back and noticed that Ororo was sound asleep on his shoulder. He had convinced her that since it was Friday they could let loose and have a hell of a night. It didn’t hurt any that it was ladies night at Harry’s so all her drinks were half off. She had also taken this time to try out some whiskey. After her fifth shot she was past drunk. Logan allowed her to have a couple more hours of fun but when he had to hold her up; he decided that it was time to take her home. He turned himself slightly in an attempt to wake her up. “Come on Darlin’ it’s time to wake up.” He nudged her lightly with his shoulder again. “Ro wake up or I’m going to leave your butt out here to sleep on the bike.” He heard her moan a protest to being awoken. “Come on you have to get up. If I move off this bike you will fall head first on the floor and I don’t think Blue would like it if I had to wake him up so he could fix you. Especially since you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk. Just to show you how much I’m…how much I’m sober. I’m going to take myself to bed.”

“You sound very sober Boss Lady.” He felt her shift on the bike. “Here let me help you.”

“I don’t need your help. I control the weather. I think I can get myself to bed without any help from you.” She climbed very sloppily off the back of the bike. Logan noticed that she had a problem standing up straight. He held on to her arm in an attempt to steady her. “See told you I didn’t need your help. I’m off to bed.”

Logan watched as she took two shaky steps toward the door. He noticed a shift in the wind and knew it was only a matter of time before she fell right down. He jumped off the bike and made it in just enough time to catch her. He scooped her up into his arms. “Yeah you can take care of yourself. If I was not here you would be sleeping on the cold garage floor.”

Ororo layer her head on his shoulder. “You are my knight and shining armor. We had better be careful or people around the mansion will talk.”

“Why would they talk Darlin’?”

“You carrying me up to bed while I’m drunk. People might think that you were trying to take advantage of me.”

“I thought that you were not drunk.”

“I’m not. Just a little tipsy.”

Logan started up the stairs and carried her down the hall to her room. He opened her door and laid her down on the bed. He noticed that she was out like a light. He knew that she would not be comfortable in the clothes that she had wore to the club so he looked through her drawers and found an oversized T-shirt. He looked down at the way she was dressed. She was wearing a pair of hip hugging, tight blue jeans and a tight black mid-drift wife beater that showed off her navel and toned abs perfectly. He couldn’t help but think about the way her body had grinded against his to the song “Whiskey Girl” at the bar and also the way her hands roamed his body as she kissed him in front of Lisa. He pulled off her top, peeled off her pants, and then stood back and stared at her. He couldn’t help but grow hard at the sight of her. After all he was a red blooded male and was staring at a half dressed woman that had a body to die for. He looked at the shirt in his hand and then back at her. There was a part of him telling him to put the shirt on her and run like hell but there was another part of him telling him to rip off every bit of clothing that he and she had on, jump in bed and fuck her until she screams his name as loud as she could. He felt that side of him winning over the other as he snared his teeth and let out a low growl. He shook his head. “Come on man. She is your friend, nothing more. She deserves better than an animal anyway.” He put the shirt on and covered her up with a blanket then quietly left her room.

---

Ororo woke up the next morning to what felt like people using a jackhammer in her head. Opening her eyes and having the bright light of the sun hit it sure didn’t help anything. She moved the covers off of her and moved to get up but the quickness of her movements made everything in the room spin. This then made her feel like everything inside of her was ready to come up. She ran to the bathroom, ignoring the fact that this made the room spin even more, and spent the next ten minutes hugging john. When she felt as though she could not throw up another thing, she went to her room and changed. While she did not feel like going downstairs where everyone was eating she knew if she did not that there would be plenty of worried people since it was well past the 6:00 AM that she normally got up. Plus she had to clean the kitchen up. She and Hank had an agreement between them that if one cooked then the other would clean. Since she was sure it was past 7:30 she knew Hank had to make breakfast for the school and it was only right that she clean. She walked down the stairs and did not smell a single thing. She walked in the kitchen and found it spotless. “What the hell?”

She heard a loud bang and the word shit come out from under the cabinet. Then Logan stood up from behind the island. “Could yah say something like good morning instead of scaring the hell out of someone?”

“I’m sorry Logan. I’m just surprised at the condition of the kitchen. I was sure there would be a kitchen full of dishes since Hank had to cook.”

“Hank didn’t cook.”

“If Hank didn’t cook then how did the students eat?”

“I told ‘em all to fix them some cereal and that we would have a big lunch. Knew that after all the drinking that you did last night you would sleep in. Last thing you needed to worry with was a bunch of hungry kids and dirty dishes. Plus I had to honor my bet so I was on kitchen clean up.”

“Thank You Logan.”

“Don’t worry bout it.” He reached under the cabinet and pulled out the blinder. “So what can I get you; bacon, eggs,…”

She held up her hands to stop him from continuing. “Please do not say anything about food.”

“What’s wrong darlin’? Yah got a hang over?”

“From hell. I spent half my morning with my head in the toilet. If I even think about food I believe I’ll spend the rest of my day the same way.”

“Figured as much.” He poured a bunch of stuff into the blinder. He turned it on and heard Ororo moan in pain. He poured what was in the blinder into a glass and handed it to her. “Here darlin’ drink up.”

She took a sip of the drink. Instantly she started coughing. “Oh God, what is this? It tastes horrible.”

“Didn’t say it would taste good. It will however help with that hangover. Sorry for letting you get this way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I should not have let you drink so much.” He pushed a piece of toast in front of her. “Here you need to eat to. This will sit easy on your stomach.”

“Logan I’m a big girl. I should have known better.” She picked it up and took a bite. “You were not pouring the drinks down my troth. I decided that I wanted to drink and I did. Now I have to live with the consequences.”

“Yeah darlin’ you’re right but I know that you ain’t used to that much.”

“Well we will have to agree to disagree. Thanks for taking such good care of me.”

“You don’t have to thank me. Darlin’ the way you are helping me out it’s the least I can do.”

“What am I doing?”

“Hanging all over me, kissing me, scaring off Lisa.”

“I haven’t scared her off.”

“Yeah you have darlin’. I know the way she was before. All you have to do is look at her the wrong way and she goes running scared.”

“Well maybe she can sense that I can fry her ass for messing with my man.”

Logan’s head jerked up at this comment. “Your man?”

“Yeah aren’t we pretending that your may man.”

“Yeah pretending.”

“You don’t have to thank me Logan. I’m glad to do things for my friends.”

He frowned and grunted “Friends.” He looked down at his hands and thought about the claws that he had coming out of them and the fact that he was an animal.

Ororo noticed a change come over him. He was no longer the playful Logan he was before. Now he was
the Wolverine. “Logan are you ok? Was it something I said?”

“No, just remembered I have something to do outside. I’ll see you around.”

“Logan… please…” Before she could finish he slammed the door. “wait.” She got a confused look on her face. “I wonder what all that was about.”

Chapter 10: See You In My Dreams

Logan did not understand what was going on in his own mind. He looked around at the sky and noticed that it was filled with stars. Out of a force of habit he looked down at his wrist to see the time. Why he did this he couldn’t understand. He never wears a watch, never has but he catches himself looking ever time he needs to know the time. All he can figure he must have worn a watch a lot before he lost his memory. He couldn’t imagine why he would have even needed a watch then but the hows and whys had been stripped from his mind. Now the only thing he was left with is the fact that he acted like an animal and had six big claws coming out of his hands. This brought him to the reason he had stayed outside all day. He needed to meditate on what was going on in is head. He had never thought of Storm like this. Hell recently he had only began to think of her like a friend. His first thought of her was…hell he really did not think of her that much when he first came. The only person on his mind was Jean. Then Storm became the Ice Queen with that whole speech about needing to chose a side and if you are going to fight with us than be with us. When the professor died she became a comforter. She was there for him when he watched Charles die and was there for him when he had to kill Jean. Then she became the boss lady. Not by choice but still she was in charge and that bothered him. He was not used to taking orders from anyone especially some woman. Recently however he saw a different side of her. She was someone he could laugh with and hang out with. He just did not understand it. Where did the desire to have sex with her last night come from. Hell he knew the answer to that, his animal side, but where did the other feelings come from. He did not understand why he got so mad at her earlier. Now that he really thought about it mad was not the feeling he was feeling, it was more like hurt. Why should it hurt him that she thinks of him only as a friend? That is all they are. They are just pretending to be in a relationship, he knows that but why did it feel as though her words ripped his heart out. He could tell that it was past 8:00. There were more lights on in the students’ room than downstairs. That means he missed lunch and diner. People were probably worried about him. He couldn’t help but wonder if Storm was worried about him. He looked up at her office and noticed that the light was on. He had to go speak with her. If he ignored her the rest of the day she would begin to suspect something. She would go around asking questions, ones that he did not know the answers to himself.

---

Logan walked upstairs after grabbing him a quick bite to eat. He figured that he needed to go upstairs and check in with Ororo. He walked upstairs and knocked on her door.

“Come in Logan.”

He opened the door. “How’d you know it was me? Sure you can’t read minds Boss lady.”

Ororo looked up from her work. “I know you are not the type of man to stay gone all day and not check in when you get back.” She looked back down and started marking the papers with a red pen. “Plus all the students know that if they are not in their rooms at this time I’ll raise sand.”

“I’m sorry I was gone all day. I just needed some time alone.”

“Logan, you do not have to explain it to me. I know that you are a loner by nature. I’m just so grateful that you are sticking with the school and the team. If you need time to yourself every once and while so that you are able to continue doing that, then I can allow it.”

“Thanks for understanding. I’m going to head on to bed. Good Night.”

“Rest well, Logan.”

“You to.” He closed the door behind him and went up to his room. He pulled off his clothes and laid down. A few minutes later he was sound asleep. However, he was not resting peacefully. He was in the middle of a dream. One that he had not experienced before. He was standing in the middle of the mansion. He could hear the sound of the students outside playing a game of volleyball. By the time he made it to the bottom of the stairs, he heard the sounds of screams coming from outside. He ran to the door but by the time he got there, it was pitch black outside. He walked around calling out the students’ names but no one answered. He went to the memorial gardens and found that there were several more head stones. He read the names off one by one “Bobby “Iceman” Drake, Katherine “Shadow Cat” Pryde, Marie “Rogue”, Piotr "Colossus" Rasputin, Henry “Beast” McCoy. He couldn’t believe it. All of the X-Men were gone. All of the kids’ names were listed as the same dates. Henry’s was a few days later. “What the hell happened?”

Just then he heard the sound of Charles coming up from behind him. “You are what happened Logan. This is all your fault.”

“I don’t believe you. They had to die in a mission.”

“If you don’t believe me go ask Storm. She will tell you what you did.”

Logan ran up the stairs calling out for Ororo. He never heard her answer but caught her scent coming from her office. He did not waste anytime knocking on her door and walked right in. The sight he saw made him sick. There in the middle of her office was Ororo lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. He went to check her out but could tell by the vacant empty look in her opened eyes that she was dead. He felt someone in the room with him and unleashed his claws. He turned to see Jean standing in front of him. “Look at what you did Logan.”

“I couldn’t have done this.”

“Look closely at her Logan.” He examined her body closely and saw three close together puncture mark in her chest. He looked at his claws. “Do they look familiar Logan? They should, it is exactly the same thing that you did to me.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you understand Logan? You are an animal. You kill everything you care for. First me, then the students, and then your only friends.”

“No.”

“Yes. You are a monster, a killer. No one will ever love you, you are not worth it. It’s all your fault.”

“No! No!” He shot up screaming “NOOOOO!!!!!” as loud as he could.

Ororo who has a room right next door to him came running in. “Logan are you alright?”

He growled at her “Go away.”

“No.”

He got out of bed, popped his claws out. “I said Get Out Ro!!!”

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what is wrong. You wake me up screaming. I want to know right now what happened.”

He smelled no fear coming off of her. He also knew she could be very stubborn and knew she would not leave until he answered her. He put he claws back in and backed down. “Sorry to wake you up. Just a bad dream that I don’t want to talk about. I think I’ll be alright. Just go back to bed.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine. Good night Ro.”

“Good night Logan.” She went to close the door but before she did. “I have no idea what it was about but if you ever need to speak with me, my door is always open.” With that she closed his door. He listened as she walked down the hall and closed her door. He heard her turn on some soothing music which he knew was for his own benefit. He laid down and let it relax him. Next thing he knew he was drifting off to sleep again, hoping not to have another nightmare that night.

Chapter 11: Just Looking for a Good Time

Three nights had past since Logan’s nightmare. He has not had another one and the reason was easy to explain, he hasn’t slept. The most he has done is cat nap at night. Lucky for him his healing factor made it possible to take those 15 to 30 minute naps and make his mind and body feel like he has slept for hours. He was in the process of getting ready for one of his nights out with Ororo. He still did not understand what was going on between the two of them but tonight he was just going to worry about having a good time. He wore his signature outfit, a pair of blue jeans, tight black shirt, and his favorite cowboy hat. He went downstairs to wait on Ororo. He was only waiting for about five minutes when she walked down. His mouth went dry and he swallowed hard. He couldn’t believe how hot she looked. She was wearing a pink dress that had a blue fringe bottom that even at the longest part stopped mid-thigh. He also couldn’t help but notice that the lace that was started at the back of her neck went all the way to her chest which allowed enough cleavage to show to be tempting. He heard her saying something but he could not make out a single word she said. He felt her push on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong Logan? Cat got your tongue?”

“Nothing darlin’. Just thinking a little dressed up for Harry’s.”

“Not really Logan. I went in the store and asked the lady working there what would she wear if she was going out for a night of fun at a country bar and this is what she picked. Plus I bought me some new cowboy boots.” She stuck out her feet showing him her shoes. “And a new cowboy hat.” She put on her a white ladies cowboy hat. “Plus I was tired of always wearing blue jeans and tank tops every time we went. I wanted to wear something sexy.”

“Well darlin’ you sure are. So why don’t we get going.”

He led her out to his motor cycle. He got on and watched as she climbed on behind him. Handing her the helmet gave him the perfect chance to see her legs showed off perfectly because of the style of the dress. He cranked up the cycle and headed off in the direction of the bar. In no time at all they pulled up in front of Harry’s. He watched as she climbed off the bike and took the helmet off allowing her hair to fall down around her shoulders. He got off and got their hats from the back of his bike where he stored things that needed to be secure. He followed her into the bar and listened as the whistles and catcalls started. They both walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. She hurried up and downed her first shot. She looked at Logan and smiled. “I’m going to run to the lady’s room. Can you order me a beer when I get out?”

“Yeah, I sure will darlin’”

He smiled as he watched her walk away noticing that her hips took a little more of a sexy swing as she walked. Harry walked up to him cleaning out a glass he just washed. “Damn I never thought that I would see this day.”

“What do you mean bub?”

“I never thought that I would live to see the day that the mighty Wolverine was whipped by a woman.”

“I’m not whipped.”

“Please, just three months ago you were coming in here all by your lonesome and would flirt with any pretty young thing that came your way. Now, any time I see you, she is with you and no other girl in the room has caught your eye. Not that I blame you. If I had someone like that I wouldn’t do anything to screw it up. She must be really special to you.”

Logan caught sight of Ororo walking out the bathroom. “She sure is.” He grabbed her beer and walked over to where she was standing. “Here ya go darlin’. Just be careful not to let what happened the other night happen again.”

“I wasn’t too bad drunk.”

“Darlin’ you passed out after you got off the bike.”

“Yeah I remember. I was so bad that you had to get me into bed.” He looked at her after that comment. He couldn’t help but remember the way her body looked after he got all her clothes off. He was pulled out of his thoughts by her speaking to him. “Plus I will never forget the hang over I had. That’s reason enough to put this down.”

She laid it down on the table. He reached over and grabbed it. “Ain’t no reason to let a good beer go to waste.” He took a long drink of it. He held out his hand to her. “Come on darlin’ let’s hit the dance floor.”

They headed out onto the dance floor and the music started. It was a fast paced song.


Girl you’re beautiful,
bout near perfect, but I bet somebody’s already told you that.
Name the poison, name the passion.
Cause a boy like me just couldn’t help but askin’


He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He whispered in her ear. “Lisa’s standing right over there.”


Keep on talkin’ to me baby; I’m hanging on your every word.
Keep those drinks a coming maybe we’ll forget what we deserve.


She grabbed the beer out of his hand and took a long drink of it. She leaned up and whispered back in his ear. “Why don’t we give her a good show?”


How bout baby we make a promise
And not promise anything more than one night.
Complicated situations only get worse in the morning light.
Hey I’m just lookin’ for a good time.


He pulled her even closer to him. She pulled herself back allowing her to turn herself around. This allowed her to grind her body against his seductively.


Put in a long hard week doin’ this nine to five
You’re just the girl to get that off my mind.
You shouldn’t worn that dress, you shouldn’t dance like that.
You got this little hot body in over drive.


The way she was moving against him was making him think all kinds of impure thoughts about her. He was trying to find anything else to think about other than her. She was just his team mate and that was all she was ever going to be.


I sure love this conversation,
That band is good, the music’s loud.
Would you get the wrong impression if I called us a cab right now?


He couldn’t help but run his hands up and down her arms. He moved his hands down to her stomach pulling her closer to him. He bent his head down and ran his lips across her shoulder.


How bout baby we make a promise
And not promise anything more than one night.
Complicated situations only get worse in the morning light.
Hey I’m just lookin’ for a good time.


He couldn’t see the way this dance was making her act either. She was getting herself turned on by the actions that were happening. She pulled herself back and turned around to face him.


Go ahead and lye to me and pull me close.
Tell me that you love me even if you don’t.
The rule is don’t you even talk about forever
But you never say never in life.


She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to her. He mouthed to her that he wanted her and she mouthed the same thing back. Neither one heard what the other said. He captured her lips with his. They continued kissing as the song ended.


How bout baby we make a promise
And not promise anything more than one night.
Complicated situations only get worse in the morning light.
Hey I’m just lookin’ for a good time.


They pulled back from the kiss. Logan grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the club. You could hear the sound of the motorcycle rushing off. Henry passed someone a beer with a smirk. “Somebody gonna have a good time when he gets home.”

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 13: But I Want To

Logan laid in his bed. He couldn’t get the flashes of the things that had occurred at the bar. He still could feel Ororo’s body pressed against his. He could still hear her softly whisper something but what it was he couldn’t make it out. He could still feel her lips pressed against his. They were so soft and warm. After several moments she even allowed his tongue to invade her mouth. She tasted like a mixture of the beer that she had been drinking and honey. He could even taste the strawberry lip gloss that she was using. She tasted sweet and dangerous at the same time and that was just the way he liked his women.

When he pulled back from her and saw the way she looked it was nearly his undoing. Her hair was messed up from one of his hands being tangled up in it. Her lips were slightly swollen from the attack and her breast was heaving up and down from deep breathing. There was nothing he wanted to do more than to take her at that very moment. The only thing he could think of was to grab her and pull her off the dance floor. When they got on the back of the bike, he felt her arms snake around his body and she let out a deep laugh. She told him that they sure had everyone going with that kiss. He realized then and there that she was just playing along with game. She didn’t want him and the truth was he did not know just where he stood on the issue. He knew that his body was telling him that he wanted her, his mind and his heart was not sure. He knew he thought of her as his friend.

These thoughts were completely frustrating to him. He climbed out of bed and went to his punching bag in his room. He thought that a few hits on it would help him out. He did not understand why this was making him so crazy. No woman in his life that he could remember made him like this. This was a completely new situation for him. The feelings he had for Jean were instant but there was a part of him that felt that a part of the attraction that he had for her was that she was unattainable. He knew that he never had a chance in hell with Jean because she was madly in love with one eye. Ororo was a completely different story. She was not with anyone and this was something he didn’t understand. She was not ugly. Hell the truth was she was any man’s wet dream. Not only that, she was smart, classy, fun, and sexy as hell. He knew that men found her attractive. He saw the way men looked at her at the bar. Those looks almost caused him to get into a fight or two. What ever was going on he was going to have to piece together or he was not going to get another good night sleep.

---

In the room next door, Ororo was having the same restless night. She did not understand what happened tonight. She has been having a great time with Logan. She was even enjoying pretending to be his girlfriend. These nights had allowed her to let her hair down and have a good time. Something that she has not been able to do for a long time. At the bar she was not the head master of the school, she was not the leader of the X-Men, she was not in charge of anything. Her only persona is Logan’s girlfriend, who is a great dancer, a hell of a pool player, and every once and a while the drunk girl singing on stage. But tonight something changed.

That kiss.

Sure they had kissed before but there was something about this kiss that blew her mind. There was just so much passion and lust behind it. She has not shared a kiss with anyone for a while and she was sure that she had not ever been kissed like that. Plus, she had actually told him that she wanted him. Where the hell that had came from she had no idea. Sure, her body wanted him. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t? The man made every woman weak at the knees. He was the epitome of the bad boy every girl dreamed of. Not only that but he was handsome in a weird sort of way and had a body that girl just couldn’t help but want to have on top of her. He also gave off the attitude that he knew just what to do with that body as well. But, Logan was her friend and team mate. That thought should have never crossed her mind.

She knew that she was not going to settle any of those thoughts tonight. Maybe if she rested on them things would be much clearer in the morning. She reached over and turned on some soothing music that not only lured her to sleep but also did the same to Logan next door.

You Just Might Make Me Believe
Chapter 14: Demons Chasing Me

Ororo’s sleep was filled with flashes of things. She saw herself as a child no more than five years old. She was sitting in an alley way in what she knew was Africa. She could hear herself crying and knew it was out of hunger. She could see a large man standing in front of her. She couldn’t make out his face but she saw him out stretch his hand and say “Come with me child and I’ll take care of you.”

******
That flash ended and then another began. She saw herself about six years old. She was still in Africa but this time she was hiding behind a wall, watching the people in the market place. She saw a middle aged white man walking slowly. She watched him stop at a produce cart and buy an apple. She knew he had to be a tourist when he pulled out a twenty to pay for it. She watched as he put his wallet back in his pocket and knew this would be an easy mark. She followed close behind him. Ororo saw little Ororo flick her wrist. When she did a whole pile of fruit fell right as the man walked by. The man bent over to help the merchant pick up the fruit. He kept on saying “I’m terribly sorry. I must have knocked it over when I walked by.”

Ororo watched as little Ororo reached into the man’s back pocket and took his wallet without him even noticing. She also picked up a piece of fruit and walked away without even being seen. She followed little Ororo down an alley. She watched as the child ate the fruit. When she finished, she got up and started walking some more. Ororo watched the child walk and then suddenly stop. Ororo closed her eyes and when she opened them she no longer was watching the child, she was little Ororo. She could see, hear, and feel everything that was happening.

She had no idea what made her stop. Not noticing anything, she started back walking. Then she heard a voice speaking to her loud and clear. “I told you to stop young lady.” She turned around and looked. Standing behind her was the man she had just stolen the wallet from. “You know it is wrong to take something that does not belong to you.” She just looked up at him with fear in her eyes. She knew if he took her to the authorities, they would cut off her hand for stealing. He just looked down at her and smiled. “Do not worry. I’m not going to harm you or take you to the police.” She could hear him talking but not a word came out. She wanted to run away but she couldn’t. It was almost like she was frozen where she stood. “Why did you take my money?”

She finally worked up the courage to speak. “I was hungry. I do not have any money to buy food.”

He held out his hand and something made her hand him his wallet back. “If you would have asked me, I would have given you anything you wanted.” He opened it up and pulled out some money. “Here child. This should be enough to get you some more food and some left over.” He handed her several bills. She felt whatever it was that was holding her let go and she ran.

********
Her dream changed again. This time she was in a small room of a building. She heard a thunderous voice call her name. She went into the room and saw a very large man sitting on what looked like a throne. “Where is what you collected?” She walked up to him and handed him some money. He counted it and looked at her displeased. “Is this all? You usually come with more.”

She could feel herself shaking with fear. “That is all I could get.”

“You are lying. I know you had more.” He stood up and yelled at her. “Where is the rest of it?” Ororo started backing away from him with fear. He reached and grabbed her arm. “Don’t you try to run away from me child. You will tell me where the rest of my money it!”

Tears streaked down Ororo’s face. “I had to give it back. I didn’t have any other choice. The white man stopped me and made me give it back.”

“How did he do that?”

“He called out to me and I just froze. I tried to run away but I couldn’t. Then he started talking to me but it was all in my head. His mouth did not move at all. He told me to give him the money back. I was scared…”

“I’ll give you something to be scared of.” Ororo watched as the large man hit the child across the face.

The impact knocked the child down to the ground. She watched the large man kneel in front of her and place his hands on her head. “This will only hurt for a minute little one.” Ororo could feel what the child was experiencing. It felt as though her brain was being pulled out of her head.

---

As Ororo screamed from the pain, the thunder boomed. The sound woke everyone in the house. Logan bolted up in bed. He listened closely and then heard her scream again. He rushed out his room and ran to her door. He extended his claws before opening the door, ready for a fight if needed. He looked in her room and found her sitting straight up in her bed. He examined the room closely and saw there was no intruder. He signaled to the students who had come around the corner to wait where they were standing. While he knew that Storm was not under attack, he still didn’t want anyone to see her until he knew what was going on.

He walked across the room and stood near her bed. “Ro, you alright?” When she didn’t answer he moved closer and sat down on the bed next to where she was sitting. He looked at her and saw a vacant look on her face and he could smell fear coming from her. He didn’t understand what was going on and the only way to find out was to wake her up. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. “Come on Ro, wake up.”

He watched as Ororo slowly came out of her sleep. She looked around the room like she was confused about where she was. “Logan? What…?”

“You were screaming. I came in to see what was happening.”

“I was dreaming.

“What was it about?”

“I don’t …”She placed her fingers on her head and tried to concentrate hard. She could only see flashes of what happened. “Nothing. The only thing coming is flashes.”

“What do ya see?”

“I’m not …”

Before she got a chance to finish a voice came from the door. “Everything alright Logan?”

They both looked at the door and standing there was Rogue, Kitty, Bobby, Peter, and Hank. All of them had worried looks on their faces. Logan spoke up. “Everything is fine. Ro just had a bad dream. Listen go check on the younger students and make sure they are ok.”

They watched as the group left. Ororo looked back at Logan. “I really had everyone worried.”

“I think for the older students, it was hearing you scream but I think the storm would have scared the younger ones more.” He reached over and touched her arm. “Now what happened so bad that it upset you so much?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember all the details only bits and pieces. What’s wrong with me?”

“Nothings wrong. It’s normal for people not to be able to remember every detail of a dream. Just tell me what you do remember.”

“I’m in Cairo after my parents died. I’m lost and scared on the street and then some man comes to help. All I can see of him is his hand. Then it is the day I robbed Charles. Then I’m in some kind of hut with a man.”

“So what happened that made you scream?”

She snaps at him out of frustration. “I don’t know Logan” She places her head in her hands. “I’m sorry Logan. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just that I’m frustrated and confused.” She began to cry softly. She looked back up at him. “I don’t understand what is happening. I know there has to be something wrong. I have never been so terrified of anything in my life but I don’t know what of. Logan…”

Logan watched as the normally strong Storm broke down right in front of him. Her tears started falling harder. He watched as she buried her face into her hands almost like she was ashamed that she was crying in front of him. He watched as her body started trembling but he wasn’t sure if it was out of sadness or fear. The only thing he knew to do was comfort her.

He pulled her into his arms, making her head rest on his chest. He stroked her hair as he would a scared child. He offered her calming words. “There isn’t anything wrong with you. I promise you everything will be alright. We will get to the bottom of this.” He listened as her breathing calmed and her body relaxed. He looked at her and noticed that she was sound asleep. He knew if he moved, she would wake up. He gently eased himself back until he was laying flat on his back. He felt her stir slightly until she was snuggled up closer to him. He allowed her steady breathing lure him to sleep. That night the two of them had the most peaceful sleep that they have had in a while.