Crying In The Rain (Ororo)

[Tempero]

Night. Rain.

Danny is sitting on the edge of the fountain, looking out into the mansion, but not seeing it. His gaze goes right through the reality, his mind not detecting anything in focus. He doesn't note the existence of anything as his thoughts rage around his head, and some even a bit out of it, most of them sadness, because of some odd separation he has managed to achieve with people around him through his fears. The harder one, the awful case of claustrophobia, being the reason why he is out here at midnight, in the rain, getting soaking wet, ruining the new jeans and black T-shirt, his white hair seeming to be glued to his head, wet and good for nothing.

He doesn't notice any of this, however, preoccupied by the sorrow that he is incapable of going inside, and that he has to endure this every night. From time to time, he would wake up in the room that has his name on the door, wondering who in Earth could have brought him there. Those were the rare times when he actually managed to fall asleep during nighttime. How did I let life get so complicated? When did it happen? he thinks to himself, asking two of many questions yet to be.

A few tears roll down his face, but are masked among the other streams of rain dropping from the sky. By now he is more than soaked, and getting into the dry would have no effect. Might as well have brought my shampoo... he tries a joke, but it doesn't work.

[Ororo Munroe]

Ororo loves the rain.

Most people would think that someone who could control the weather would never get rained on, but nothing could be farther from the truth. After a hard day, rain is revitalizing. It reminds her of days when things were simple. Back when she was just a member of the team.

No responsibility. If she got killed, well, that would be too bad.

Things aren't like that anymore. For better or worse, when she's lying awake at night - like she was 10 minutes ago - when she's planning a mission, when she's eating lunch, for Gaia's sake, it hits her randomly. The entire team's life is in her hands whenever they go out. And if she screws up royally, a couple more tombstones get added out back.

That's the best case scenario. No need to think about the worst.

So she's out in front, enjoying the rain pattering against her body, slicking her t-shirt down like a second skin.

Hmm.

She sees Danny sitting near the memorial fountain, and slowly walks over.

"Anything wrong, dear? You look down." She slowly eases down onto the stone next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

[Tempero]

Danny flinches, startled, at the sudden movement and new voice. He's never seen this woman. But she fits the description he's heard so many times. She must be Storm. Or Ororo, if he remembers correctly. OK, I gotta start remembering more names around the institute. he thinks to himself before remembering that the woman is still waiting for his response.

"Oh...it's...um...no...never mind...nothing wrong...Sorry..." he replies, fumbling with words, for more than one reason. He doesn't like talking about his phobias, and also he doesn't want to overload other people with his problems- especially someone like Storm, she must have tons of her own.

Almost by reflex, Danny reaches with the back of his hand and wipes off the tears from his face- but to no effect, except indicating clearly that he's been crying. When he finally realizes that, he almost slaps himself. Can you get any dumber? the nasty little voice asks.

"...crud..." the words escape his mouth before the teeth can bite the tongue. He does, however, bite into his tongue, making a wound that will definitely hurt for the next few weeks- prevention. Obviously, you can. And, obviously, you are the most pathetic life form on the grounds of the institute, if not even wider! I wonder if I could manage to drown in the rain?

[Ororo Munroe]

Ororo looks at Danny with concern as he wipes his hands across his face.

> "...crud..."

She folds one leg over the other, and puts an arm across the back of his shoulders. What on earth is the matter? In all the years she'd been here, she had never come across a student crying, in the rain, in the middle of the night. Her maternal instincts kick in.

"Danny... clearly something is the matter. If you tell me, perhaps I can do something about it." Ororo tries to smile, but her heart is heavy. She pushes the young boy's sopping hair out of his eyes.

[Tempero]

>>"Danny... clearly something is the matter. If you tell me, perhaps I can do something about it."

Danny stops for a moment, wondering how does she know his name. Then he smiles, altough only on the inside, remembering that Warren had known about his powers. Those memos clearly are something useful he thinks.

As she puts her arm around his shoulders and swipes his white hair from his eyes, some kind of warmth comes over him. A warmth he barely even remembers anymore. It was as if he was back in time, eight or nine years ago, when his mother used to hug him. There is something so...different about her actions, so...motherly. It's almost as if he feels she is part of his family, however absurd that is. Then, he chuckles, weakly though, at the sight of her hair. White, just like mine.

"It's...just that...it's...I...can't go in." he finishes, thinking how rather stupid that sounded. "I mean...I haven't been inside the institute ever. And...I don't spend any time inside since about three years ago..." he adds, knowing that it's not much, but at least it will prevent her from thinking that he got locked out, is afraid of the other students, or something else in that manner.

"And...it's...it gets...lonely...every night...like this"

[Ororo Munroe]

> "I mean...I haven't been inside the institute ever. And...I don't spend any time inside since about three years ago..."

Ororo isn't quite sure how long Danny has been at the Institute - after Alcatraz there was quite the influx of new students. It hardly matters, however. Something is very wrong here.

"Daniel, I don't understand. You have a wonderful room there - I know. I picked it out for you when you first arrived here." She slowly strokes his wet hair back from his forehead.

> "And...it's...it gets...lonely...every night...like this"

Her eyes widen as she actually comprehends his true meaning. She swipes rainwater out of her eyes and stares back into his own.

"You haven't ever set foot inside the Mansion? Why on earth not?" If Danny didn't seem so pathetically miserable, she would probably be shocked. But instead, her heart went out to him. Maybe there's something I can do...

[Tempero]

>>"You haven't ever set foot inside the Mansion? Why on earth not?"

"Well...um..." Danny trails off, wondering whether to tell her or not. She really does have many problems. She doesn't need me on her head. he thinks, trying to imagine some way of getting out of the situation without telling her, and also without insulting her, or doing something stupid. Finally, he decides that there's no other way.

"Um...I'm...afraid..." he says, looking down to the ground, and making a point of not looking at her. "I'm...claustrophobic. Um..very claustrophobic. About three years ago these...something happened, and...every time I enter a room, it's like...like the walls start closing in around me. And it's with every room like that. A few days ago...I was at the movies with a few other students...and I had to go out. After that...thing... happened, I barely even stayed anywhere inside, but my uncle has this one really huge room in his house, and somehow I managed to be there...for a while. Um...I'm sorry..." the apology comes automatically as Danny finishes the story, wondering how did his tongue just untie itself like that.

"Just...you don't need to worry about it...I'm sure you have better things to think of...with all the other stuff happening and all."

[Ororo Munroe]

> I'm...claustrophobic.

Suddenly, everything falls perfectly into place. Ororo looks sympathetically at Danny, but quickly she flashes back to her own struggles with the problem. Small, enclosing places. The walls caving in. The feeling of certain death. She takes quick breath in, and shakes her head.

"Daniel. I wish you'd said this to me earlier instead of sleeping on the grounds each night. We need to conquer our fears, lest they control us." She hugs him tightly.

"I was... am... claustrophobic, as well. Anything that doesn't destroy us only will make us into stronger individuals."

Ororo tilts her head gently. "How bad is it? Over time, I've been able to conquer it. Now, only extremely small enclosures frighten me." She lets a small smile ghost across her lips. "You can work through it, I'm sure, no matter how bad it seems. I have faith in you. You have to have it in yourself, however, to get anywhere at all."

[Tempero]

Danny is caught a bit off guard by the hug, and doesn't exactly return it, because he can't quite put everything in place of what's happening. Then, when she says she's also claustrophobic, a before this unknown stream of certain happiness crosses over him. Wow. That's something I've never expected.

>> "How bad is it?"

"Well...I...uh...can't get past the main hall, and even that's a strain. It's all because of another fear...You see...when I was four, my parents..." he trails off, finding it extremely hard to talk about it. He has been repressing that stream of memories for about 12 years, trying not to think about it. It is almost impossible to go from ignoring it to trying to tell someone, a stranger, the whole thing. "well...they died in a car accident. And I closed up and didn't say anything more than what had to be said until I turned 13 or 14. Over that time, I was very lonely. I learned what it really meant to be alone, and...well...I am still afraid of it. I don't just hate it, it terrifies me." he pauses, a heavy sigh sending a tremor through his whole body. Somehow, it is allot easier to talk about it than he thought, but it's still very hard.

"When I was 14, something happened. A bunch of kids shoved me in a locker, and left me there. It was an hour later that I was out...But during that time...I...I...it was so hard...so small a space...and so dark...and I was...alone...no one around...no sounds no...I...I...it was so...I was so..." he can't go one talking about it, bursting into tears, heavy sobs shaking him. Almost by reflex, he shoves himself into her, sobbing on her shoulders in need for someone. It was so hard containing those memories, but reliving them is a whole different thing. It is much, much more painful.

After a few minutes, each one seeming like an eternity, he quickly retreats, realizing what he is doing, his eyes now once more on his feet. "I...I'm sorry...didn't mean to do that..." he takes a few seconds to gather his thoughts. "Ever since, I...couldn't walk into any place inside...I was at the movies with Bobby and Josh a few days ago, and I almost had a complete breakdown...Bobby helped me out there, and it was sort of easier when we reentered, but I still can't make myself go anywhere inside, unless it's really huge..."

[Ororo Munroe]

> […] I don't just hate it, it terrifies me.

Ororo looks into Danny’s eyes. “I wish you had said something earlier, honey. We’re a family here at the Institute. No one should have to suffer, closed up to other like that. Everyone needs someone to talk to.” Even Logan, she thinks sardonically.

“The rain soothes me when I’m upset. However, I think the last thing you need tonight is to be drenched, on top of your problems.” She looks to the sky, eyes turning eerily white. Shortly, the rain stops, and the clouds roil away to leave crystal clear night. The stars shine down on them.

She tilts her head back to Danny, and the ‘Storm Goddess’ fades away, leaving Ororo behind. And Danny shoves his head into her breast, sobs wracking him.

By reflex, she puts her arms around him, trying to soothe. Charles, what have you gotten me into? She tries to think what she could possibly do to make him feel any better, and ends up summoning a warm wind to try to dry him out a bit. After a few seconds, he releases her awkwardly.

“Daniel, it’s okay. Everyone needs help sometimes. The question is, do you want to try to get over your fear, or are you going to let it control your life?”

[Tempero]

Danny seems even more awkward about what happened as she tells him it's okay. He is just not used to this. Sure, he expresses his feelings all the time, but only the happy, "nice" ones. His sadness and misery were all bottled up and sealed away, far from the world's inquiring eyes. It is both easy and hard to talk about them and show them openly. Besides, he feels very embarrassed about the fact that here he is, a 17 year old boy, crying on the shoulders of this grown woman. Not quite the best way to be found.

He makes a failing attempt at even the weakest of smiles, and then gives up completely on the whole "look, nothing's wrong" attitude that was by now so reflexively adopted. "So far, it has been winning in the battle. I try to force myself to stay indoors as much as possible, but it just doesn't work. Whenever I'm inside, I feel like the walls are closing in on me and that they are trying to kill me, which then in turn reminds of that locker, and then what being alone is like, and it all just gets too much..." the words stop, his voice trailing off into the distance, same as his eyes. Danny pulls a strand of his hair out of his eyes, the strand that has been so stubbornly coming back so often.

"I really don't know how to deal with it any more. I've drained all my ideas and resources- mailed hundreds of different doctors, talk to lots and lots of other people, but nothing really helped."

[Ororo Munroe]

> I really don't know how to deal with it any more.

Ororo lets go of Danny briefly to marshall her thoughts. It appears that he has tried to solve it himself. A boy can only do so much.

"Daniel, would you like me to try to help you with this problem? We can confront your fear, together, one step at a time. If it becomes overwhelming, we can take a break, and try again later." She takes his head in both of her hands. "I warn you. It will not be easy. But it is something you must do."

A thought suddenly surfaces. "Daniel, have you ever tried sleeping in the arboretum? With all the glass, the space may not trigger your claustrophobia." If it comes to that, I could always have Kurt transport you down into the Danger Room.

[Tempero]

Danny's eyes light up with new found hope as she offers helping him. "Really? You would do that? But...why? I mean...you have so much other work to do, and there's no reason for you to help me, really." he says, assuming, as per usual, that she couldn't possibly care about him more than just by showing some politeness when she already saw him out there.

"The arboretum? What's that?" he asks, not exactly sure what she meant. His eyes don't show the sadness anymore, but rather curiosity and a huge amount of hope.

"No. I often wake up in my room, actually. It's odd...I know I don't sleepwalk, and I know I fall asleep somewhere on the grounds. It's as if someone carries me. And then I have a breakdown while trying to get out of the room. I sprained an ankle once...I'm ranting...sorry..." he stops himself before he says any more stupid things. OK, pull yourself together. You're getting more pathetic by the minute.

[Ororo Munroe]

> But...why? I mean...you have so much other work to do

Ororo's eyes narrow slightly. "First and foremost, I am a teacher, Daniel. The X-Men are important, yes. But they exist to make sure the future is a secure one. Without someone to teach, the future quickly becomes a hypothetical exercise." She folds her arms. "And I can certainly sympathize with your claustrophobia."

> "The arboretum? What's that?"

She looks a little incredulous. Ororo, just because it is one of your favorite spots does not make it a gathering place for the students. "The arboretum, attached to the rear of the mansion. I love it there... it's full of plants and other living things. There are also benches and chairs - a good place to study, or just think." Her eyes brighten. "But the best part of all is that the walls are made entirely of glass."

She waits for the realization to sink in, eying him intently.

[Tempero]

And it finally does, a smile spreading across his face. "You think I wouldn't have problems over there?" he asks, thinking that he already knows the answer. His main problem is visual. Mostly, at least. OK, that just might work out. Wow...it's like someone really cares.

He looks down to his feet, a blush spreading across his face. "Um...thanks..." Danny fumbles the words out, not sure how to go about actually thanking her. She's the only person who actually is trying to do something about his problems after his uncle.

And Daniel was not all the close with his uncle any more, and he knows it's his fault mainly. "Thanks for all that you're doing for me. I really appreciate it." he adds, his usual personality finally kicking in.

((sorry it's crappy...))