The Innocent Will Never Last

Fleur felt a twinge of unease as she pulled on a black turtle neck sweater over her faded tank top. In a momment, she and Kurt would pull the all time prank on Logan. Her hands were clammy and shaking slightly. Of course, Fleur had pranked someone before, but this was Logan- the world's most paranoid mutant.

" Hurry up!", Kurt called from his room next to hers.

Heart hammering in her chest, Fleur said," Almost done! Jeez..."

Licking her lips, she pulled out a few cans of hair dye from her vanity. No, the effect wasn't permanant, but it was enough to humiliate Logan completely. It wouldn't fade until two weeks, but Kurt's "surprise" would ensure that Logan felt just as horrible, just as stunned and, most importantly, just as guilty as she had felt that afternoon. He was going to regret messing with her, Fleur DeMarc.

" It's go time", she whispered to herself, clutching the hair dye close to her chest.

Hesitating only for a second, Fleur left her room and stepped into Kurt's. Then her heart froze, her breath hitching in her throat . She saw Kurt holding a picture of them from a few months ago. In the picture there were three grinning mutants: herself, Kurt and Scarlett. In it they were at the beach, sitting under a large umbrella. They were happy.

Suddenly, Fleur remembered what Scarlett had said that day:" Friends forever, nothing's gonna come between us!"

Except the fact that you're dead!, Fleur thought angrily, tears already making watery trails on her cheeks. She felt cheated, betrayed in a way. Scarlett should be here, not six feet under the ground. She should NOT be dead!

" Come b-back!", Fleur shouted into the darkness of the hallway. She felt herself sink into the floor, a complete mess.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her securely. Letting out a shuddering sigh, she let herself fall back into the person holding her. Fleur's mind felt like a tangled web of lies and hurt. She didn't care who the hell was comforting her, she just wanted to feel cared for. Fleur wanted someone to tell her Scarlett was alive, that the past few months had only been a nightmare, that it was over. She wanted a beautiful lie: a balm for her wounds.

" It's okay,it's okay", Kurt's voice whispered in her ear. He was making circles in the small of her back with one hand, with the other he wiped her face clean.

" NO IT'S NOT! DON'T YOU GET IT? SHE'S NEVER COMING BACK!,"Fleur screamed at him, her sobs making the sound of her voice even more terrible to hear.

Annoyed and bleary eyed, the other mutants stepped out of their rooms to investigate what the source for such a horrible sound was. When their eyes fell on Fleur for the second time that day, they looked away. She was a sobbing, screaming twisted mess laying on the floor, being held by Kurt. Most looked away, feeling as though they were witnessing something private, not decent.

" Is she okay?"

" Somebody call the professor!"

"What's her problem?"

Other similar remarks passed through the group of mutants. Kurt looked around helplessly, Fleur sobbing into his black sweater as if she would never stop. She just wanted to fade away, far away. That way she wouldn't have to live with all the humiliation, guilt and heart breaking pain that Scarlett's death had caused.

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" I need you to talk to me, Fleur!", Xavier said sternly for what must've been the hundredth time.

" NO!", she shouted, wrapping her arms around herself tightly- as if that could hold her together.

Fleur turned her head away. Nobody understood what she was going through. They all kept telling her it wasn't her fault. That Scarlett had "sacrificed" herself and Fleur should be glad to be alive. Well, Scarlett was DEAD. She had left Fleur and she'd promised they'd be friends forever. She lied.

" Scarlett wouldn't want you to be crying", Jean said softly, her hand reaching out to grab Fleur's hand. Fleur pulled away, angry at the pity in Jean's eyes.

This isn't about her death anymore. It 's the fact she broke a promise, we're NOT friends forever!, Fleur thought angrily.

" You don't know what Scarlett wanted. You're not her!," Fleur screeched, her throat becoming hoarse.

Jean seemed to undergo a sort of transformation in her emotions. First her eyes widened in shock, then hurt made her screw up her face. A sigh came from her as she stood up from the stool she'd been sitting on. Fleur wanted to take her words back, but nothing that didn't sound sincere came to her.

" I....I may not be Scarlett, but I know you shouldn't be mopping like this. Everyone here misses the old Fleur. You're not the little emo type, you're more than that," Jean said quietly, somehow managing to sound confident at the same time.

Fleur bit her lip,repeating Jean's words under her breath," Everyone here misses the old Fleur..."

" They do, they hate hearing you cry at night and then pretend your okay during the day."

" I'm sure Logan really misses me", Fleur said sarcastically. She didn't want to think of what anyone else thought.

" Okay, everyone but him then."

Fleur let out a snort, causing Jean to smile. Fleur decided that she would deal with her own emotions. After all, they were hers. What right did Xavier and Jean have to know her thoughts? She'd feed them a sob story, knowing that neither would try to read her mind.

Turning to Xavier, she began telling them a story similar to the real thing, but with less details. They didn't need to know everything.