"Come on," Raven exclaimed as she halted in the library doorway. Evie looked up from her space in confusion. "The president's about to make his speech."

Immediately, Evie shut the book and rushed after the blonde. They reached the lounge room in no time and saw everyone already there. The brunette slowly sat next to Charles, she hadn't talked to him since the failed attempts to improve her mutation the previous day. Luckily, it wasn't awkward.

"It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile, crossing the embargo line that surrounds Cuba as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States. Requiring a full retaliatory response on the Soviet Union." Kennedy's voice echoed throughout the room which made Evie bit her inner lip nervously.

"That's where we're gonna find Shaw." Erik identified sternly, almost in a knowing tone.

Alex furrowed his brows, turning to the man and questioning, "How do you know?"

"Two super powers facing off, and he wants to start World War Three." Charles spoke up, following the same train of thought as his friend. "He won't leave anything to chance."

"So much for diplomacy." Erik scoffed in disgust as he began to walk away, not before turning to the rest of the mutants. "I suggest you all get a good nights sleep."

The day slowly turned into the evening, the blues of the sky turning orange before black. As Charles began to do the rounds, making sure no one had gotten lost again, he came across a light that was still on at the end of the corridor. He slowly walked towards it, smiling gently when he saw Evie sat on her bed, reading a book.

"Have you even gone to sleep yet?" He questioned as he lent against the door frame casually.

Evie looked up to him, smiling when she saw him. "I tried." She answered truthfully.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered as he pushed himself off the frame, walking into the room and sitting on the end of her bed.

"Shouldn't you just go into my head, find it yourself?" Evie asked him, motioning to her brain as she placed her book down.

"I said I wouldn't do that, I intend to keep my word." He replied as he grinned at her.

Evie chuckled lightly before her expression fell, twiddling her fingers together. "There's something blocking me from reaching my potential, something locked away." She explained as she touched her head, looking up at him. "You're realised it by now, right?"

"I have." Charles nodded sadly.

"Can you find it for me, please?" She asked him softly, her eyes showing how scared she was. "I want to be of some help tomorrow but I can't do that if I haven't reached my limit."

Reluctantly, he lifted his fingers to his head. However he faltered, not exactly sure if what he was doing was right. "Are you sure about this?"

"My mind is so cluttered and violent, I need someone to calm it down." Evie stated as she crossed her legs, fully facing the telepath. "I need you Charles." With a final sigh, Charles pressed his fingers to his head and began to dive.

Ford was about to let go of it when something caught his eyes. "Wait, its glowing." He told them all in confusion.

Evie's eyes widened as she looked over her shoulder. "What?" That's when she saw that the landmine had began to glow. The colour was almost unnoticeable however her eyes caught it immediately. It was orange. "Put it down!" She screamed in alarm, standing up from her place, rushing forward in panic.

A burst of air pushed the brunette backwards, an enormous growl of an explosion burst the women's eardrums. Her back hit the back of the truck, making her cry out in pain. Dark clouds fired upwards, sand being pushed around in the shock.

The bomb has exploded.

Evie gripped her head as she pushed herself upright, blood slowly trickling down her forehead and out of her ears. There was a loud ringing that wouldn't go away, deafening the brunette. Her eyes desperately scanning what was left of the road. There was blood everywhere, mutilated body parts of her friends everywhere else.

That's when she spotted someone alive. She knew that she had called out Ford's name but she couldn't hear herself. There was people screaming around her, their mouths opening but the noise being drowned out by the buzz.

Her feet skidded to a stop as she gripped Ford in her hands. She kept trying to say he'd be alright but no matter how much she shouted, she couldn't hear herself. There was something in Ford's eyes that made her stop. Fear. He feared her. That was the last expression on his face before he died.

A tear skid down Charles' cheek as he pulled himself away from the memory, the trauma. He quickly whipped it away when he notice. He looked to the women sat opposite him, her expression emotionless as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.

"That was your last tour, wasn't it?" He identified as he gently grabbed her chin, guiding her face to look at him.

"It was the first time I had used my mutation since high school." Evie admitted, pulling her head out of his hand. She kept her eyes off him, afraid that she'd fully break down if she looked. "It's my trauma, makes me who I am."

"What did it give you?" Charles asked her, not wanting to push the boundaries with his questions.

"PTSD, insomnia, enormous amounts of guilt." She responded without hesitation, finally looking at the telepath. Her eyes were vulnerable, showing that she was scared and that she hated herself.

Without thinking, Charles pulled the women into a hug, his hands around her waist, holding her close to him. "Their deaths were not your fault." He told her in a whisper. "You didn't diffuse the bomb properly."

"That's what they said but I know, I did diffuse that bomb." Evie exclaimed into his neck as she wrapped her arms around his neck, tears dripping out of her eyes, wetting his sweater. "I cut every wire after it was disabled and it still went off. It was glowing, orange like the rock I showed you. It was my fault, everything is my fault." She began to sob, her voice cracking slightly.

Charles pulled away immediately, grabbing her cheeks softly and whipping the tears away. "Don't. Don't do that to yourself." He reassured her, his blue eyes staring into her own. "None of this was your fault, Darwin was not your fault."

Evie's eyes went wide at the words. It was what she needed to hear. For so many years she had been holding unnecessary guilt. With Charles, there was peace, reassurance and most of all, unconditional acceptance. These were things she had craved for years and with the Englishman, she felt safe.

It was almost subconscious, both of them leaning in. Charles had caught Evie's eyes flickering between his eyes and his lips. Was she about to kiss him? Their heart rates spiked as their eyes kept flicking between the eyes and the lips. The slowness of it made Evie start to doubt herself so instead of pulling away, she pressed her lips straight to his.

Their lips molded together perfectly, Charles' hand going to the back of her head as Evie place a hand in front of herself to steady herself. His lips were soft and gentle, not pushing too hard as they kissed. Evie's lips were hesitant yet kind, giving the man a chance to back down if he wanted to.

When they pulled away, both of them smiled gently at each other before going back in for a more passionate kiss.

It probably wasn't the best idea to be kissing right before a massive battle but they didn't know if they would survive the next day. Right now, neither care. Simply basking in the presence of the other mutant. It felt right.

When the pulled away again, Charles pressed his fingers to his head, whispering, "Sleep." And for the first time in many years, Evie actually had a good dream.