'She doth protest to much' {open}

'Three foggy mornings and one rainy day...' Charlie thought to herself as she looked out side the window of the sitting room. She thought it was Frost who wrote that, but it may have been Kipling she always got the two mixed up. The line fit any way, the weather had been dreary of late but she loved it that way. Her hazel eyes gazed dreamily out of the window as the gentle rain hit it with a light repetitive rhythm. She was curled up in the window seat of one of the tall windows of that particular room. In her lap rested a battered looking "Much Ado About Nothing." one of her personal books. It was her favorite play, the banter between Benedikt and Beatrice left her with goose bumps. It was witty and charming, both constantly dashing one another and declaring their hatred of marriage, yet both falling madly in love with each other. To quote another one of Shakespeare's plays 'She doth protest to much.' meaning (in application to Beatrice) she protested her love for him in fear he would find out the truth and mock her, Charlie could identify with that. She had read it so many times she had it practically memorized. So she really didn't mind wandering off away from the pages to look out of the window.

Her mind danced between stories of her own and other books she had read quotes floating through her mind as she sat barefoot, knees brought to her chest, gazing out the window. The side of her face was pressed lightly against it and she could feel the cold of it on her skin but she didn't care, it was nice to feel something. Her blond hair was plaited neatly to the side, a few strands making their escape around her face. She wore a long sleeve sweatshirt with some obscure collage name printed on the front. She didn't really know where it was and she never planned to go there, she thinks the institute gave her the sweat shirt just cause but it was cozy all the same. She also wore her plaid pajama pants, she had no shame, and her feet were bare, she liked them that way. It was....3:30 in the morning? She hadn't checked recently, it was early to say the least, but she couldn't sleep and "reading" in a window seat was her solution although she couldn't focus on her book any better than she could sleep. She supposed that was the problem that made it hard for her to do anything other than think. Her mind was to active this morning, it wouldn't let her rest enough to read or sleep, it hopped from one thought to the next and she didn't really mind.

The room behind her was dark, she had lit a few candles around the sitting room giving it a dusk kind of aura. Really it was so she could read and so that people would sneak up on her, but she wasn't paying attention to anything but the rain and her thoughts. To be honest, this was her perfect morning.

Lex wanted to get away from all people and just enter a new world. Now, if you were a mutant who had the abilities to do so then it would probably be easy as ABC, but Lex didn’t have those powers. He had darkness manipulation, and entering and creating new worlds just wasn’t a part of his powers’ domain. So to solve this problem, Lex headed off to library to pick up a few books. He loved reading, and most of all, he loved being highly knowledgeable thanks to his love of books. People only saw him as the brooding and mysterious mutant, but what they did not know is that knowledge is like a drug to Lex. He always wanted to know more, and yet he was wise enough to not let people know of what he knew. And so in one dim corner in the library, Lex read the works of Victor Hugo from the sunset till who knows what time it was. He would have continued reading there till dawn if it were not for the pain of sitting on a hard library chair for too long. With some of Victor Hugo’s works in hand, Lex decided to head towards the sitting room. Surely no one would be there during this time of the day.

The French mutant did not think it would be necessary for him to come through the door of the sitting room due to politeness, and so he decided to create a shadow portal that would immediately bring him inside the room. He stepped lightly into the portal, and almost at once he popped up from the shadows in the sitting room. Lex stepped back and blinked in surprise upon seeing a dim outline of a girl sitting by the windowsill. She seemed to be reading a book. Not far from her, the flickering light of the candles’ shadows danced quite eerily and beautifully at the same time. Lex started to feel discomfited as he recognised the girl. It was Charlie, the girl he had sparred with in the clearing in the woods. Well, if this isn’t awkward, thought Lex. He had surprised the girl once by emerging from the shadows in the woods, and now here he was again about to surprise her with another one of his infamous emergences from the shadows. What should he say this time? Or should he just shadow travel to a spot outside the door to knock?

Waving away the ridiculous idea, Lex decided to step towards the girl. His face was almost hidden from the number of books he had brought with him, and he needed to place them on a desk quickly. “Good morning,” said Lex quietly as he placed the books on a table. “It’s quite a surprise to see you here at this hour.”

Her head had been some where else but yet again Charlie's heart skipped a beat as Lex managed to sneak up on her...again. Accept this time she gave him an incredulous look and weak smile "Once more you have managed to frighten me Lex Darcy. Yes, good morning, I couldn't sleep so I've been here reading...or attempting to any way." Her hazel eyes watched him closely he was still very interesting. Her eyes turned to his stack of books and she added "Although it seems you have been doing your fair share of reading...or weight lifting." How he managed to carry all those books from the library...Charlie was duly impressed but vowed not to let him see that.

Spinning around to face him, back against the window she asked "So was it reading that kept you up? Or some supernatural force?" Sarcasm was by far Charlie's favorite mode of conversation, although others seemed affronted or mocked by it she never meant it that way....unless they where being particularly think headed then yes she was making fun of them but it was pretty obvious, unless it wasn't.

She remembered being small and snapping back at anyone who dare say a word against her or her brother. On one of her 2nd grade report cards the teacher had written 'Charlotte displays wonderful qualities and promise for learning, but has a problem with reigning in her tongue. I find that when some one says something she doesn't like or finds offensive her retorts are sharp and mean. Please work on positive speech over the summer, but over all she is a wonderful child.' God she hated that teacher, and that teacher had never liked her, and was only polite to her parents, she wondered if her tongue was 'sharp and mean' because she despised her teacher so. Well what ever the case Charlie was no longer in the second grade and hoped her peers had greater maturity than to go cry of something offensive was said if even by acciedent, although she found that some did not.

A rare genuine smile formed itself on Lex’s lips when Charlie spoke. It wasn’t often you’d run into a girl who stayed up at three in the morning just so she could read. Lex could sense that this would be interesting. He squinted as he tried to read the cover of what Charlie was reading, but it was too dark and too far to see. However, he wasn’t the space-hogging type of guy, and so he sat on a couch not too near Charlie. The books were left untouched on the table. Remembering why he had gone to the sitting room, he picked Les Misérables and began to flip through its pages. Charlie’s words had a hint of sarcasm in them, but it only made Lex smile more. He could tell that Charlie wasn’t trying to be mean; it was just who she was. Usually he only received this type of sarcasm from lads he encountered, so hearing it from a girl like Charlie felt strange in a good way to him. More and more, he was starting to get intrigued by Charlie. Who is this girl with the very interesting personality? He thought as Charlie spoke. And why and what is she reading at this hour to keep her wide awake?

With the smile still in place, Lex answered. “Yes, it was reading. I have been reading from sundown in the library before I decided to move to a more comfortable place.” Lex lazily flipped through the pages of the book as he spoke. However, for once, the book didn’t seem as “attention-grabbing” as the person he was talking to. Maybe it was because to him, Charlie was a mystery. And she didn’t seem to be a bad sort of mystery. “I had been hoping no one would be here, but it seems you have arrived before me. And judging your position, you’ve been here for a long time, haven’t you? So, why is it that you cannot sleep? Are you possibly suffering from a throbbing pain in your heart due to a desire you so cannot control?” Lex asked with a light teasing tone. As he talked, he kept his eyes on the book, but discreetly he was watching Charlie. The smile was still in place, but he had not meant it to be a smile to mock Charlie. In fact, Lex felt like lightly teasing the girl.

Lex shifted on his chair, and he looked at Charlie to see what her reaction was. She knew that Charlie wasn’t exactly the swoony-girl type, so he didn’t really mean what he had said. However, though it wasn’t shown on his expression, Lex secretly wondered if that truly was the case. Surely Charlie couldn’t be… in love?

With a playful roll of her eyes Charlie retorted "Ah yes, my love for you has kept my nights sleepless as I often lay awake and wonder if it is indeed requited." She smiled at him, beneath the stony faced, mysteriously handsome lad, there be one with a joking air about him. Sliding off her window seat she sat in the floor cross legged, she could see Lex better that way. Her eyes drifted down to her book.

"No, I was just thinking, my mind didn't seem to want to sleep, so I humored it and let it stay up and think..." and dream she was going to add but that was so cliche. Her smile faded as she looked at her worn book's cover, you could barley read the title on the pale blue cover, but she knew the book very well. She lovingly passed a hand over it before remembering Lex. Quickly she looked up at him and then once again to his stack of books, what had he been reading?

She pushed herself up off the floor and crossed over to where he was with his books and picked the top one off the stack. A little dusty from its term in the library she looked at the cursive gold lettering, one of Victor Hugo's books, and she noticed he was reading Les Mis, an apt choice for a french man. "Are you fond of Victor Hugo then? Les Miserables is a good one, I approve, but I suppose you are a little préjugés oui?" she gave him a weary smile, the french felt strange in her mouth, she hadn't spoken it for a while but the language itself was beautiful, she was sure she did not do it justice.

((Gah sorry for the cruddy post!))

The look of mischief remained in Lex’s eyes as he continued to pretend reading the book. As much as he liked how Les Misérables brought light upon social and political diseases, he had read it all before and was truly curious about why Charlie was up at this hour. Normally, Lex didn’t care much for the other people’s businesses, but for reason he couldn’t fathom he wasn’t put off by Charlie’s aura or anything of the sort. Truth be told, it was the other way around. Lex had always been the most mysterious person amongst a crowd—he never smiles, he doesn’t talk much, he keeps an unreadable expression on his face and he would just choose to walk away from the crowd with his hands on his pockets due to his aversion to people. With Charlie, he found himself talking slightly more than usual, and he smiles not because of dark, brutal thoughts but because of how he was truly amused. So when Charlie talked of how she just decided to stay up and think, Lex studied her closely yet very subtly to have a notion of what Charlie was thinking. Her smile slightly faded, and she stared at her book for a moment before asking Lex if he was fond of Victor Hugo. She spoke a couple of words in French as she did, and it made a small smile form on Lex’s currently serious face.

“Victor Hugo has a brilliant mind,” answered Lex. “Unfortunately, I do not agree with most of his… beliefs. One could say I am merely studying his works to improve my construction of my own beliefs and theories.” Whilst Lex spoke, he thought of the major themes Victor Hugo’s novel had. It could be seen how Victor Hugo valued love and compassion, and Lex felt very uncomfortable with that. To think of such concepts felt like a laugh for him. After all, why bother giving love and compassion when it always ends with pain caused by covetous onlookers? Besides, love was an overrated thing, and Lex would never understand those who saw it as the best gift to be given and received in the world. After a moment, Lex noticed how it was awkward and ill-mannered for him to be seated on a chair whilst a lady sat on the floor. He moved to a spot on floor across Charlie and sat there cross-legged. It was just enough for them to see each other well, and yet enough for them to keep their space. He was still curious about what Charlie was reading, and when he tried to look he found that it wasn’t the dark that prevented him from seeing the title. The book’s cover itself was faded, and unless he asks Charlie what it was about he would probably never know. However, unfortunately for him, inquisition wasn’t his style.

“I suppose you have read Les Misérables for you to be able to commend my choice. Well, this is new; it isn’t every day that I come across people who are able to read a book older than their grandfathers.” Lex maintained a calm expression his face as he stared at his book whilst he spoke, but once in a while he would glance at Charlie to see what her reaction was. This was starting to look like a very strange morning for him, but for once, it was in a good way.

“Victor Hugo has a brilliant mind,” Lex had said “Unfortunately, I do not agree with most of his… beliefs. One could say I am merely studying his works to improve my construction of my own beliefs and theories.” Charlie smiled lightly, she disagreed, but what fun was it when every one agreed?

"Well, I would counter that. Granted I understand constructing your own beliefs and theories but I like what Victor Hugo portrayed...." she stopped, he probably didn't want to hear her ramble on about her own thoughts and ideas surrounding a book he had already read. She hated being lectured and tried not to do so in turn. Although she valued love and compassion, she just didn't think she was worthy of it. Fear gripped her heart each time she started to let some one get close. Fear that it wasn't right, that she didn't deserve this love or attention from this person, seeing her own faults and knowing that if they too saw them they would leave her in the dust, and she didn't want to live a lie. Although, she noted there is a difference between what you desire and what you deserve, and she was very sure she did not deserve what she desired.

"...Well, this is new; it isn’t every day that I come across people who are able to read a book older than their grandfathers.” Charlotte smiled again

"Call me a nerd but I find that the older the book the bigger the puzzle, and I like puzzles, I like figuring things out. And I think they are often forgotten, placed behind glass like as a memory but never read which is their purpose." She looked fondly at Lex's book, she wished more people understood, understood what they meant and understood what they stood for.

For some odd reason, Lex saw the perfect opportunity to have an informal debate with someone. As a person who constantly sought ways to improve himself without the restrictions of the extremely systematic requirements of education, Lex thought having a debate with a seemingly-smart girl would help him improve himself. Of course, he need not let Charlie know this. Charlie might think he is not truly interested in her opinions, and if that were to happen Charlie might not voice her true opinions at all. Though, maybe, underneath what Lex would call ‘professional reasons’ was true interest in what the mysterious lady had to say. Did she really think love and compassion is what the world needs despite her seemingly reclusive disposition? And what did she think of relationships? Lex felt himself slowly feel inwardly awkward at the thought of discussing ‘relationships’, but he reminded himself that there was absolutely no hidden agenda beneath the second question that had popped up in his mind. No, there truly were none at all. If anything, it was all for Lex’s thirst for knowledge, and nothing else. He couldn’t be interested in anything as ridiculous as ‘relationships’—the world had enough foolish couples to make up for that.

“Well, then, Charlie,” Lex started, “If I may ask, do you, then, completely agree with the message Victor Hugo had in this novel?” At the mention of the word ‘novel’, Lex lifted the book for Charlie to see, though it was obvious what they were talking about. “Do you believe love and compassion can heal the world of its impurities and malice? Or, if not heal the world, then do you think these aforementioned trifles can provide a person with a merrier life in this otherwise cursed world?” Lex spoke calmly with the same unreadable expression on his face, but deep down he was starting to feel ‘keyed up’ about what Charlie had to say. The cold-hearted side of Lex’s mind fought this feeling by reminding him of how things had not gone well with a girl in the past, which left the quite-humane side to counter the former by saying how Lex was only feeling thrilled because new information would be added to the stock in his mind. Lex tried not to sigh heavily as another one of those debates took place in his mind, and inwardly he told both sides to just bugger off and listen to what Charlie had to say.

“And if I may add, you are not a nerd,” said Lex with a slight smile as he looked at Charlie. It was a genuine smile this time, not one of those smirks he usually wore, and the smile made Lex feel weird for a moment. He didn’t say more, but in his mind lurked five words for Charlie—You are a puzzle yourself.