Moon [Not Mel. No I'm just kidding - it's for Mel]

[Everett King]

Soul searching complete - with not much more of a soul to be found - Everett was returning to the academy with the shadows as his cloak and the dust left by his absence muffling his footsteps. It was symbolic really, perhaps his absence had been great enough to mask his arrival, make it trivial. Perhaps he was better off gone. Well, if he'd gained anything on his trip, it had been an unusual sappiness for things like symbolism. He'd just love explaining that to the people he worked with, and Erika. Well shit he was dead. He expected very little else in terms of what he'd left behind, but death seemed guaranteed either which way.

Turning the key, he pushed open the kitchen and winced at the slight creak of hinges. He'd need to start oiling them again, he realized with a sigh. Hopefully there'd been some temporary workers feeding everyone -well obviously - and keeping his kitchen stocked, so that was one less thing he had to worry about. He'd probably end up throwing it out and restocking the fridge anyway, just because of his picky nature. 

Dumping his duffel back on the counter, Ever pulled out his reliable old chair from the corner and flung himself down in it with a sigh. He didn't bother turning the lights on, the windows in the cafeteria shot in some moonlight through the open kitchen door, and it wasn't like he needed to see anything. The only thing he'd gathered from his trip away was an increased love of good food, and more comfort in his own abilities. He could draw now, and leave things on the page. Of course they were still evil shits off the paper, but now he had a choice in that. It was a bit of a relief. He was still dead though. Dead as a doorknob. Dead as a runaway mutant, in fact.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Now, as you could imagine, running a school with your siblings wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Despite working well with her twin sister, Elsa, Erika knew that she too had to take part of the responsibility, which in theory, she didn't mind too much. Everything leading up to this moment had been stressful - and quite frankly, quite tragic. So much had happened, so much she had yet to deal with. But it seemed like that whenever Erika tried, something else came up and she just kept pushing everything back and back, and back again.

Like for example getting kidnapped by SPECTRE, tortured and then coming back to a school under attack; And that wasn't even the worst part. Oh, no. Watching students and teachers getting shot and then die was also part of the package. By far, Ellen getting shot was probably one of the worst things she had ever come back too. Even so, the two of them hadn't exactly rekindled their friendship. She wasn't sure why, but after everything that had gone down both before the SPECTRE attacks, and after it, Erika was burnt out.

Looking at the list in her hand, the brunette frowned after yet another late evening getting things running now that school had just started back up again. Leaving security and those things to her sister, Erika did what she was best at; Planning stuff. Of course, that didn't mean everything she had to plan would be fun. Like stocking up the kitchen. That was surely one of the things she hated the most. Holding up the phone against her ear with her shoulder, Erika opened the door to the kitchen, "Yes, I know," she replied dully, "Yes. I hired a cat-- well, technically he's a shapeshifter who just prefers his cat--" sighing, the brunette reached her hand in to turn on the lights, "Can we talk about this later? Yeah, yeah." With that, the brunette ended the call and let her eyes adjust to the bright light as she walked into the room.

Only to be met with a sight she hadn't quite expected to see... Well, ever. "...wow, I must be more tired than I thought," she said and turned around, rubbing her eyes.

[Everett King]

Ever's body reflexively tensed at the sudden invasion of light. Blanking his eyes open with a grunt of protest, he craned his neck up from where it had been hanging over the neck of the chair. He'd expected a cleaning lady or students sneaking in for a midnight snack, not Erika. And yet there she was. Perhaps it was his massed bad karma that brought his judgment day so soon. She hadn't even given him the chance to change his clothes, or shave the stubble of his cheek. He did not want to die a backwater hillbilly. He really didn't.

Erika's words may have been amusing if he hadn't been able to see the strain and tire clearly etched into her beautiful features. She was clearly working herself too hard, and as unsurprising as it was, it was still disappointing. "I won't argue with that, Dove. But if it turns out I'm nothing more than an illusion, I'm going to have some very interesting questions to ask my mother when I see her." He quipped with his usual dry smile, standing to his feet. Suddenly subconscious of his appearance, he patted at his dusty jeans futilely, wishing he'd taken a plane to France, rather than backpacked over a few mountains. It was silly how the appearance of Erika could make him doubt the events of entire months within a few seconds.

Uncertain of what he was now supposed to do, what with his existence still under debate, Ever looped his thumbs into his pockets and cocked his head. "I won't call you crazy if you stay to chat with your subconscious," he invited softly with a small smile.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

His voice, as familiar as it was, yet sounded something like from another life sent chills down her spine. Truth be told, she had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to react. She was shocked, right to the core and she really had thought she had seen the last of him. Of course, that had not been at all what she wanted, and she had spent several nights wondering what point in time it had all become such a mess. Of course, she knew the answer, but it wasn't exactly something she wanted to admit to.

Turning around, the brunette put the list down at the counter next to her. Her brown eyes furrowed somewhat, but she remained quiet. Just the mention of her old nickname had the lump pounce at the pit of her stomach and opening her mouth to speak, no word seemed to want to escape her lips.

She was fairly sure that she was still gazing at him with wide eyes, as if he was a ghost, because that was exactly how it felt.

He looked tired, and quite worn out. As if he hadn't taken proper care of himself for quite some time, which in truth, wasn't all that surprising. After all, he had once lit himself on fire. So, not shaving went without saying. "I uh.. Wow," Erika stuttered. "What are you doing here?" Well, that was also one way to start the conversation. But what else did he expect? That she squealed with glee and jumped right into his arms? Well, perhaps that would have been a more suitable greeting, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was nothing but dreaming. "I thought you had left for good.."

[Everett King]

Well how was he supposed to answer a question like that? Everett floundered momentarily, caught between lying and spilling the entire truth. Whichever he chose, he'd be left with decidedly difficult questions, and he'd rather not have to make them up. Not to Erika at least. In the end he gestured helplessly towards the counter with a shrug. "Cooking?" He attempted with a wince.

The ridiculous excuse at least settled him into a more comfortable element. With something on his mind, Ever turned away and opened the fridge, surprised and pleased to see it was more or less stocked. Haphazardly gathering ingredients to his chest, he spoke over his shoulder, "You hungry? I suppose you haven't been taking care of yourself." It wasn't a question, and when he turned back around, he glanced at Erika with appraising eyes.

With a brief wince he dropped the ingredients onto the counter and pulled out his chopping board. Save for drawing, cooking was the only thing he could do at that time. He was a fidgeter by nature, and needed to be doing something with his hands. He figured at that point, touching Erika wasn't a good idea. "I had...." He let that hang uncertainly for a moment before shrugging. In all honesty, whether he would return or not was not something he'd ever debated. One day he was gone, and the next he had decided to return. There had been no real thought behind it, much like all of his other impulsive actions. He supposed it was foolish to believe he could just pick everything back up and keep on going.

"How have you been, Dove? You look tired." He murmured quietly, staring down at the counter, rather than looking at Erika.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Cooking. What a overly expected answer. Erika actually had to stop herself from smiling at the comment. It wasn't amusing, or funny. None of this was, but Everett had almost had an almost enthralling effect on her, so no matter how mad she was or how bad of a mood she was in, he always, without expectations, managed to bring her back down to earth, to a more level-headed point. Even in her state of shock, he managed to calm her down. It was almost like getting an infusion of some kind of relaxing drug. "I see," she said and furrowed her brows.

She remained perfectly still, even as he started rummaging the fridge. At first, her inner staffer kicked in, wanting to point out that, well, under these circumstances it wasn't exactly the most appropriate course of action, but that made her sound awfully a lot like her sister, so instead, the telekinetic simply watched. "What makes you say that I haven't?" she asked, biting the next line of words down and swallowing them. This was hardly the time for any venom to be spat out. She didn't have the right to, not after everything. And she wasn't really mad at him. How could she be? She had been in absolutely no position to do anything about him leaving, or making him stay for that matter. She had first handedly lost that right a long time ago.

But even so, after all this time, why did seeing him again have to be so damn hard? She could feel a tremor of old feelings well up inside her chest, and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that, ironically enough.

And then there was the question. The one question she didn't have the answer to -- or rather, didn't wish to answer. Because she didn't know. She had avoided even thinking about that, and everything surrounding it for months. Hesitating, Erika licked her lower lip and dropped her gaze to the list she had left on the counter next to her. Flipping over a few pages, she simply shrugged. "It's been a long day," she said, casually avoiding the question. Because that was all she ever did; Avoid everything. "Yourself?" God, this felt so awkward, and not because of who she was talking to, but because of the way it felt as they were just tip-toeing around each other.

[Everett King]

"Do you now?" He mused, pursing his lips to hide a smile. It perhaps wasn't the time for him to be poking fun at Erika, but there was some strong-willed part of him that couldn't resist. Turning back to the counter he selected one of the knives and pulled it from its sheathe. "What do you feel like?" Ever asked over his shoulder, already starting before she'd replied. With the knife edge he began shaving chocolate into a bowl busily.

Thankfully, with his back to Erika he didn't need to hide his next smile. There was something to the slight petulance in Erika's protest that hadn't changed. "Because I know you. Nothing else is necessary, I just know what you're like, and taking care of yourself has never been a priority." He was naturally able to chastise her, and it was a source of pride that he'd managed to keep most of the amusement out of his voice. Placing the chocolate on the stove he turned it up then turned to the milk, adding a few sticks of cinnamon.

It was honestly easier for Everett to keep his back to Erika. He could talk this way without being able to reach out to her, and he could stare at his hands without needing an excuse. Staring at her face would only get him distracted. Not only that, he realized, but it would probably hurt.

"You didn't answer my questiooon." Everett almost sang the words teasingly, putting the milk on the stove as well before he turned back to Eri, folding his arms and pouting. "How have you been. All you need to do is look at me to see what I've been doing; so we're talking about you."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"What does that have to do with anything?" she argued and almost snorted. Okay, so maybe this guy had the kind of effect on her that made her pride just bounce all over the place, because she knew that at the end of the day, he knew exactly what he was doing and he had complete and utter control of the situation. It was annoying, but she didn't really mind, which probably struck her as the oddest of all.

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Erika almost felt like a child being scolded, which wasn't too uncommon around Everett. He really did know her and she knew it too, which just made her even more reluctant to admit it. "Well, then I'll be happy to prove you wrong and say that I've been taking excellent care of myself." Well, okay, maybe not as well as she could have, all things considered, but she certainly could have been doing worse, which made it count. So there. She moved her gaze to look at the chocolate, which just simply brought out a lot of familiar memories. That had been what they had been cooking that one night when... She shrugged the thought away, and it sort of made her wonder if it had been a conscious choice, or if she was reading too much into it.

With his back against her, Erika managed to gather herself a little. Which meant that she could take a few deep breaths and keep herself from completely freaking out. She had always been good at keeping things under wraps, but she knew all too well that the man standing in front of her knew exactly how to make herself express herself openly. He had always been good at that, even if he didn't mean to.

When he turned around again, the brunette's brows furrowed again and she simply shook her head, like a stubborn little child refusing to tell her parents where she hid the candy. Shifting the list from one hand to the other, Erika focused her gaze on it to avoid his and pursed her lips, "Were you always this annoying?" she asked in an almost accusing way. She continued to quirk her brow as she looked at him from the corner of her eye.

[Everett King]

"Well it's kinda my job," Ever replied easily enough, raising his eyebrow. Since she hadn't given him any requests anyway, he continued work. Combining the melted chocolate with the warm milk, he slowly stirred with his eyes still in Erika. How she managed to stay so composed and calm was beyond him, though he may have just been giving himself too much credit. Then again, perhaps she was now conditioned to his leaving. It certainly hadn't been the first time.

Skeptical by nature, Ever far from believed that was Eri was telling him was the full truth. "Mmmhmm," he murmured, tilting his head and waiting to see if she'd add anything more. When nothing seemed forthcoming, he simply sighed. Erika could be a steel trap when she wanted to be, he'd never been able to change that, and had never really seen the need for it. In situations like these however, he wished she could talk to him. At this point though, he knew he far from deserved it. He was actually impressed and a little disheartened at how cordially she was treating him. Surely she was mad.

Turning off the stove he grabbed two mugs from the cupboards, pouring his concoction into each. Finishing it off with another square of chocolate and a stick of cinnamon, he turned and held one out to Erika. "Hot chocolate. If you like it, it's yours. If not, you can throw it on me in a fit of rage. I'm sure one is coming sooner or later." The offer was made with a somewhat pained smile, knowing and accepting of his fate, even if it was with some reluctance. Lifting his own cup, he took a quick sip and for a brief moment, regretted adding vanilla beans when he had the chance. They would have added a smoother taste, but it wasn't bad without it. He wanted marshmallows as well.

Crossing his feet, Ever cocked a hip and grimaced. "Oh yes, but you were so attracted to me before you never noticed," he quipped, then frowned as he realized he may have gone too far with that one. "Are you mad, Princess?"

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

When he held out the hot chocolate, and started speaking, Erika couldn't help but stare blankly at him before hesitantly accepting the hot chocolate. Wait, he thought she was mad? Why on earth would she be? He had every reason to leave after everything that had went down, and truth be told, she was even surprised he was back and talking to her in such a... Not enraged fashion. After everything that had happened with Felix, Erika had been certain Everett would never talk to her again. Frowning, Erika was fairly certain the confusion was obvious against her olive features.

Not even his joke, or, truth had any affect on her. Instead, she focused on the simple fact that he actually, honestly thought she was mad. "Woah, hold on," she said and lifted her free hand. Placing the mug down on the counter, Erika continued to cross her arms over her chest, "You think I'm mad?" she asked directly, tilting her head to the side. The frown on her brows furrowed further as she shook her head, "Why on earth would I be mad?"

After all, she had been the one to screw everything up, not him. He hadn't kissed another person, she had. He hadn't drove her away. Oh no. That was all on her. So, why on earth would she...

"You're not serious right now, are you? Because if this is some lame joke, I can't say I find it particularly funny." With that, Erika shook her head, refusing to believe that she was actually hearing what she was hearing. This had to be some sadistic form of a trick, right?

[Everett King]

Erika's confusion was well founded, he supposed. But then, when in all their relationship, had he ever truly become mad at her? Sure there were instances of disapproval, but only when she herself had been in danger. Not even when she had kissed someone else, had he shown ire. What right did he have to do as much? It was her own life, and he couldn't even pretend to have control over that, or even a desire for it. He'd always known in his heart that Erika was far above him, their relationship was a waiting game, and when she'd gone to someone else his time had run out. It had been nothing more than that. He'd always seen the world in a black and white cut. Relationships were no different.

Or at least that was what he had thought, until she'd come back. Then there had been colour thrown onto the ink pad, and he'd had no idea how to handle it. So he'd run away, for the second time. That was his own fault, and she deserved to be mad for it. He cocked his head, disappointment and confusion evident. "I left you for god knows how long, and you think I have any right to be angry? What have you done that is out of your rights?" Rolling his eyes, Everett huffed in exasperation. "Stupid Princess, it wouldn't hurt you to have some kind of vengeful spirit."

If he hadn't hurt her at all with his sudden disappearance, well it would be hurtful, but also entirely understandable, considering. On that train of thought he grimaced and lowered his eyes. "How long did it take for you to notice I was gone though? A week? A month?" He asked in a low voice, not desiring to stir up the argument that could cause, but needing to know anyway. "You're dating someone now as well, I suppose? The same kid you kissed before, or a new one?"

Raking a hand through his short hair, Everett huffed, and before he dropped his hand he allowed it to rub his eyebrow tensely. "I'm not angry. Why aren't you?"

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"You know very well what I'm talking about," she said and shook her head. Of course he knew. Here he was, claiming that she needed to be more of a vengeful spirit and that was just a tad hypocritical, now, wasn't it? After all, he had done nothing wrong. At least, not in her eyes. Leaving only seemed appropriate, after all. That's what she would have done. That was what she always did. She ran away from her problems and never dealt with them. She could easily enough understand the need to get away.

Frowning, it took the brunette a few moments to wrap her mind around what he was actually asking her. This time though, it wasn't as easy to keep the venom down. She waited for him to finish though, and for several minutes, she remained quiet and just stared at him with squinted eyes.

"Well, considering the fact that I was kidnapped by this group, SPECTRE. Remember them? I was gone for over a month only to come back to my best friend being shot and bleeding out, I apologize for being a little occupied," she said dryly. She took a deep breath then and looked away. And by the time she had gotten back, well, he was already gone. In fact, the last time she talked to him had been only a few, maybe two days before everything went down. "Besides, by the time I came back, you were already gone, and as you can imagine, I had other things to tend to than wondering why you weren't there anymore." Alright, so that wasn't exactly true. Both during being kidnapped and the longest time after, heck even to this day, she still wondered. Not once had he left his mind, even as much as she had hoped that he would, because at the time, she really didn't think he would come back. Ever.

As for Trevor... Well, that wasn't something she had quite expected, and had happened solely because he had been there too. He too had gotten kidnapped and in the end, had been the only person she had been able to turn to, which wasn't saying much, seeing as not even he could get her to actually talk about everything that had happened. But she didn't wish to discuss that. Not here. Not with Everett. Somehow, it just felt so extremely out of place. "Does it really matter?" she asked and looked up, "Why do you even care?" He shouldn't have. Not if he was sensible. She didn't think that he still did. Why would he?

But that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was that after everything... She still cared.

"Because you did the most sensible thing anyone could have done in that situation," she said finally and shook her head. Lifting her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, Erika closed her eyes. "I can't blame you for that. I never did."

[Everett King]

"Never claimed innocence here, luv," he replied with a shake of his head. He could see this conversation going nowhere, just as much of theirs often had. With both of them believing the were the ones at fault, and refusing to put the blame on the other, they were at an impasse. It was absolutely ridiculous and, he thought, the complete opposite to how he believed most couple's fights went. Not that they were a couple anymore. If they ever had been to begin with.

It was for that reason that he was relieved, if a little hurt when some manner of ire finally worked its way into Erika's voice. He had pushed on purpose where he knew he shouldn't have, and while he had no knowledge of her imprisonment with SPECTRE, he'd heard some things he'd cared not too. His eyes widened in surprise, and involuntarily he took a step forward, arm half raised to grab at Erika before he stopped himself. "You were kidnapped?! When? Shit Erika, what happened?" He demanded, brown eyes wide and pained as he watched her. Noticing his fingers were shaking he clenched them at his sides. He was useless. Fucking useless.

He'd run like a freaking coward from his problems and left Erika all alone. Even if he had been around, he might not have been able to protect her, and somehow that was worse. Falling to his knees Everett closed his eyes, palms pressed on the cool floor. It felt good, compared to the heat that was buzzing through his body. "I'm sorry. Shit I'm sorry, Erika. Please forgive me." He choked brokenly, shaking his head back and forth in absolute guilt and despair. He almost looked up at her again to reaffirm that she was indeed in one piece, but stopped himself.

"I have to care. I can't stop caring. I ran like a piss-ass coward and you were the one punished for it. Every damn thing I do ends up hurting you." It was a harsh realization to face, but perhaps he'd known it all along anyway. Then he simply mimicked the words he'd once told her ages ago, last time they'd been in his kitchen together. "I'm sorry I care. I'm sorry I'm bad at it. I'm sorry I can't give up loving you."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

She knew she shouldn't have said anything, because she didn't want him to pity her. It had happened and it had been terrible, but she didn't want him to worry. She never did. But at least, she had left the gory details out. She was glad she had managed to control herself enough to keep herself from oversharing. Sighing, Erika shook her head, "Just a few days after I last spoke to you. By the fountain," she began and furrowed her brows. "Well, me and a group of other students were..." Smuggling a mutant with a visible mutation out. "Out after curfew and got snatched up by a group." Because they had located her licence plate. "And well, yeah," she shrugged. She had spent so much time avoiding the entire thing. Especially talking about it, so she kind of went on pilot whenever she did have to, and often left out most of the details.

Mostly because it was easier that way.

However, when the older man suddenly dropped to the floor, Erika's eyes widened. It was not at all what she had expected, and needles to say, it caught her by surprise. She simply stood there, dumbfounded as she watched him. The pain she could see in his eyes hit her like a wall of bricks and smacked the air right out of her lungs. Drawing a sharp breath of air, Erika shook her head, almost in disbelief. She hated seeing him like this. She absolutely hated the pain and worry she inflicted upon him. It was unbearable, and she really, really didn't deserve it.

Kneeling down, the brunette shook her head, "You know I don't blame you for anything," she said, "It would have happened regardless if you had stayed or not," she said solemnly. Because at the time, she didn't know he had left. She did it because it was what she always did when she screwed up; She had acted out. As if her body was moving automatically, Erika felt her arms go around the older boy's neck, pulling him in for a hug. She wasn't sure though, who needed it more; Him or her. "Hey, shh, it's not your fault," she repeated herself. She had to press her lips together to avoid the familiar burn behind her eyelids from spreading.

And there it was; The words that had always seemed to both surprise her and render her completely speechless; 'I can't give up loving you.' Those words sent waves of emotions coursing through her entire body and had her going limp. And the familiar smell or feeling of him didn't exactly make said emotions calm down.

Cupping his face in between her hands, Erika shook her head. "You're an idiot," she said, her voice barely above that of a whisper. Brushing her thumb against his cheek, she sighed, "You gotta stop blaming yourself for every little thing that happens. I know you don't see it that way, but you don't control everything that happens, and sometimes... Sometimes bad things happens, and that's just how it is." She shook her head. No, she wasn't going to blame him, or let him blame himself. "And you were never bad at it. Caring, I mean." Of course she knew that it wouldn't work. He wouldn't stop beating himself up over what happened. That wasn't who he was.

Something about being this close to him, standing face to face sent her stomach through a rollercoaster of what seemed to be something akin to being extremely nervous, and extremely excited. Everytime she tried pinpointing the emotion, it had the butterflies in her stomach flutter even harder. Did she still love him though? That was a question she probably had to ask herself.

Then again... A more important question was rather... When did she ever say she had stopped?

[Everett King]

Everett's brown furrowed as he continued to frown. Just two days? If he had only waited two days, he wouldn't have left at all. He could have found Erika, saved her. A part of him was glad that he wouldn't have to be put to the test like that, because he was afraid he would have failed. But this was just as bad, he'd failed her anyway, and nothing rivaled that kind of pain. "After curfew. Of course. You know I think warning you to be careful has turned pretty redundant these days." Ever remarked with a tired sigh, not surprised despite himself.

He was well aware that his own actions now wouldn't help. Knowing Erika, she'd blame herself for his weakness as well. That right there defined their entire relationship. Giving and taking blame, only ever when it wasn't due, and often unfairly. All of their arguments happened when one tried to convince the other to be mad at them, rather than at themselves. It was hilariously paradoxical when he thought on it. He didn't like to think on it though. He loved Erika and that was certainly all that mattered, past the broken nature of their relationship, and past the sweet warmth of their feelings.

Freezing as he felt Erika's arm snake around his shoulders, Everett sighed before giving in to the surprise embrace. "I still might have been able to do something" He gave the muffled protest from where his head was resting on her shoulder. Perhaps he shouldn't have been taking advantage of the situation like that. He was undoubtedly out of line, but fuck that. He'd do it while she allowed it, he didn't care if that made him scum or anything else.

"I never denied being an idiot. But I think you're an absolute hypocrite if you think I apologize for things I don't need to." He murmured, pressing his mouth against her collarbone with a low chuckle. Sighing, he closed his eyes so Erika wouldn't have to watch him roll them in exasperation. "Bad things should only happen to bad people. This is freakin' ridiculous. I think I might be cursed" He decided with a wry grin. As a mutant, he figured it was perfectly acceptable that he be at least a little superstitious.

Straightening up, he stepped from Erika and turned to his cupboards, rummaging through them until he came across a few coffee packets of salt. He usually loathed keeping them, but for these purposes they would suit just fine. Tearing off the tops he headed back to Erika and held one out with a wicked grin. "Best way to purify is to throw salt on it, right? I think we'll leave that little disagreement with caring until later, considering I'm showing I care by letting you ritualistically toss salt on me." Ever explained, body shaking with hidden laughter. "No more bad karma, no more bad things happening to me, or to us. Let me come back with a fresh start."

With that offer made he held up his own packet with a smirk. "And of course fair is fair. We're in this together after all."