"Of course not," he said through gritted teeth, the whispering becoming louder, until it was apparent that they weren't simply noise. They were Erik's thoughts, shifting unbridled into Charles' mind.

He was struck, unprepared, by Erik's intense concern. Concern for him. His own mind surged against it, fighting it, unwilling to believe it. Erik had proved irrevocably that he cared very little for their friendship, when he'd gone away, or so Charles had convinced himself.