"Lyla! Come on, we have drills in ten minutes and the Professor might send you into a coma if you're not there!"

"Boo!" I yelled, hanging upside down from a tree branch and Scott jumped back. "Ha! You should've seen the look on your face!"

"You have to stop doing that!" He exclaimed as I swung back and forth. "Real mature, Ravager."

"Oh, don't be a stick in the mud, Cyclops."

"We've got drills, let's go." He said but I stayed put. "Lyla, Raved scheduled the Danger Room for the two of us. Let's go."

"Don't feel like it." I grinned and jumped down. "Besides, yesterday we logged five hours in the Danger Room. We deserve a break... You need to loosen up a bit. You used to be the one that used to sneak us out instead of doing drills, remember?"

"Back then when the Professor and Raven weren't pestering us about logging at least three hours every day."

"Your point?"

"That we have drills and I'm not covering for you like Kurt does whenever you're late."

"I'm sick."

"You don't get sick."

"Not true! I had a cold when I was four!"

"Sixteen years ago?" Scott smirked.

"I'm dead."

"I must be talking to a ghost then." He shrugged, walking forward and I immediately knew what he was going to do.

"Wait, Scott! Don't you try to-" I was interrupted by him swiftly swinging me over his shoulder. "How did you-"

"Been eating my veggies." Scott laughed and I felt my face heat up. "Still wanna back out from drills?"

"How many hours?" I huffed.

"Two. I'll get you ice cream to cheer you up."

"Fine."

。✯ ＼ ｜ ／✯ 。

"Now was that so bad?"

"Excruciating. If I didn't have metal in my skeleton, I would've broken a bone or two." I groaned and grabbed Scott's hand to stand up. "Ugh, I'm not doing drills with you for a while. Next time, I'm logging in with Jean or Peter."

"It wasn't that bad this time!" Scott defended and I gave him a pointed look. "Fine, I increased the difficulty. But we're fine!"

"Next time, a little heads up. Gives me a second to think about how feral I should get. I feel like I was holding back."

"You weren't. But, I'll make sure to warn you next time." He laughed as the doors opened.

"You still owe me that ice cream."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll go get it now. Your usual?"

"Surprise me." I smiled as Jean walked up to us. "You logging in?"

"Yeah, and the Professor's asking for you. He's in Cerebro." She said and I tilted my head. "It's about your Dad."

Right as she said that, I practically sprinted down the hall and went inside Cerebro.

"Where's my dad!?" I yelled.

"It's complicated."

"As usual." I scoffed and stood next to him, pulling back the headpiece connected to my suit. "Talk to me."

"He's in Japan and he's been having dreams of his past. I've tried connecting to them to try and help him piece them together." Charles explained, taking off the helmet and I raised an eyebrow.

"What dreams?"

"Bits and pieces, mostly nightmares. And you make a constant appearance in them... His most recent dreams are the adamantium bonding."

"It wasn't a fun time, Professor. I was strapped down at the same time he was getting injected so he wouldn't see me... He volunteered in hopes that they'll leave me alone, but Stryker had other ideas. Why have one animal when you could have two? Two perfect weapons who were made indestructible."

"Hence why you were bonded as a child." He realized.

"They thought that if I remained a child, I would always obey... I'm forever grateful for Erik to make the adamantium flexible enough so I could grow."

"I see..."

"So, he's having nightmares about that night?" I changed the subject and he nodded. "I know what that's like. Jean recently learned to strap me to the bed before she tries to wake me up."

"Which is why when it happens, I try to drive his mind elsewhere. My theory is that if I give him enough happy memories of you-"

"He'd eventually come find me." My eyes widened and he nodded again.

"I gave him some visions of the school so he'd know where to find you." Charles smiled and held my hands. "It'll take a lot of work and patience. But I'm willing to keep trying if you really want me to."

"Can you really do that?"

"I'd have to be extremely careful, but it's possible." He assured and I immediately hugged him tight.

"Thank you, Charles... I don't know how I would've survived without you." I whispered.

"I made a promise to myself the day I found you, Lyla. And I intend to fulfill that promise."

。✯ ＼ ｜ ／✯ 。

"I genuinely couldn't decide, so I got a scoop of pretty much everything I thought you'd like."

"I honestly would've been fine with plain vanilla or strawberry, Red Eyes." I laughed, jumping off the kitchen counter and took the bags. "So, 31 flavors and you got a scoop of everything?"

"And I even had time to make a list!" Scott smiled and handed me a piece of paper. "I had a Sharpie on me, so I numbered all of them based on the order they gave me."

"One thing that I'll never understand is how your mind is so organized given what we do."

"And your mind is always a disaster."

"I act on impulse. It's part of my charm." I defended and glanced at the list. "Okay, give me two numbers."

"17 and 30."

"I get Rainbow Sherbet and you get Cherry Chocolate. I'll hide the rest in the freezer... We're lucky that in theory everyone's asleep."

"Did the Professor find your dad?" He asked, grabbing two spoons and we sat on the island.

"Supposedly Japan. I kinda don't even want to entertain the idea of going because Mystique will shut me down and then tell the Professor to give me a lecture about God knows what."

"But he's okay?"

"I hope so." I shrugged, grabbing a spoonful of the ice cream. "Okay... I think I have a new favorite. You have to try this one!"

"Lyla, I don't think I want-" I interrupted Scott by shoving a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. "Okay... that's actually really good!"

"I told you!"

"Mm, crazy idea time."

"Shoot."

"How long has it been since you went to Canada and went to the cabin?" He asked and I tilted my head in thought.

"Let's see, I just turned eleven when I was taken against my will, Alex and I went when I was around thirteen. I turned twenty a few weeks ago... So like seven years ago? My mind's been a blur since 1973, so give or take."

"1973?"

"Yeah... it feels like a decade of my life was lost. Like one moment I was with my dad I don't know where and then the next I was sixteen and being woken up by Jean because I was late to class." I hummed and set the empty cup aside. "But why do you ask?"

"What if I told you that I somehow managed to convince the Professor to give you a well deserved break?" Scott smirked and held out a set of keys. "Road trip?"

"You're kidding!?" I jumped down and he nodded. "I'm going back!?"

"Just for a few days at most. I tried to negotiate for more, but he said no."

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, so pack a bag."

"Scott, this is so amazing! Thank you!" I exclaimed, grabbing his face and kissed his cheek before running out of the kitchen to my room. "JEAN, WAKE UP! I'M GOING TO CANADA!"

"You're finally getting deported for the crimes you committed last mission?" She groaned and winced when I turned on the light. "Big light! Never turn on the big light!"

"Scott's taking me to Canada to visit the cabin for a few days." I grinned, jumping on her bed. "And all I did was grand theft auto! It's not that bad compared to you and Storm who almost burned down a building."

"Oh, I already knew about that." Jean waved it off and hid her face under the pillow. "Lover boy was talking about it after you left to see the Professor."

"Jeanie, we've had this conversation."

"Yes, and I'm tired of it. Just kiss of fuck each other against the wall, I don't care... I can't stand another mission with the two of you just full of sexual tension." She grumbled and I yanked the pillow. "Bitch."

"I've told you time and time again, Scott and I are just friends and that's all-"

"Oh, for the love of God!" She exclaimed and sat up. "The man can't take off his visor, but I bet fifty bucks there's heart eyes under that thing. He got you 31 scoops of ice cream just because you bat your eyelashes, for Christ's sake! He doesn't have to log so many hours in the Danger Room because he confessed this morning that he's sore and bruised from yesterday but he still logged two extra hours because you like to blow off steam in there... And he's taking you to Canada!"

"So?"

"The adamantium made you stupid or is it the atavism finally kicking in?"

"Jean!"

"I swear if something doesn't happen on that trip, I'm taking matters into my own hands because we're all tired of watching the hand brushing, the awkward moments and everything else for four long years! I think even the Professor is tired of it!"

"Nothing is going to happen because there's nothing there!" I defended and she scoffed, grabbing the pillow and laid back down.

"For someone with heightened senses, you're blind as hell." Was all she said before turning away from me. "Pack your bag and go to sleep before I fling you across the room and make you think frogs are in your bed."

"You're the worst, you know that?"

"Which is why I'm your best friend."