Day One: Introductions

[Rogue 4]

Natalie nodded, placing a hand on his arm. "That's a brave move, moving out. Just be careful. Remember that you just met these people."

***

Neil looked over his shoulder to see what Danny meant. His eyes went wide for a second, before his lips spread into a slow smirk. "What'ah shame. I knew about the X-men, but Magneto neglected to mention that Rasputin would be here. Might have chosen a different assignment."

[Vergere 1]

Lance furrowed his brow. "People like... you?" He glanced between Chase, Peter, and Kelly, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Kelly shifted her stance just slightly, suddenly on edge.

[Andy 60]

"Foreign people," Chase tried to improvise. "And, uh, people who like foreign people... Right Peter?"

* * *

"Well, he doesn't look to pleased about something," Danny said, pointing out the obvious. "Not a good friend of yours?"

Edited May 9, 2008 by Andy

[Mara 29]

"Great!" Joseph and Catalina headed off towards the concert crowd.

[Ayingel 24]

After waiting around, Lila just gave up. She looked around for Jean, Scott or Peter to let them know she was just gonna head to the gas station. She saw Peter first since he was the tallest. "I'll be back. I'm just gonna go to the gas station across the street. Need some fresh air." She started to turn, but remembered they were her ride. "Don't leave without me!"

As she crossed the street, she saw Gertie and some football player just pulling in. Good timing. I'd hate to be around them for too long. The gas station was quiet when she got there. No one was inside when she got there, so she picked up a bottle of soda and a candy bar. She finished paying and went outside. Looking around, Lila saw an ATM. She headed over and looked at it a bit. She did have a bank card in her wallet, but she really didn't want to use it. Looking a little closer, she saw that it wasn't particular to any bank. Reaching up, she put her hand on the screen. A few seconds later, $300 came out the slot. This should be fine. She put the money in her wallet and headed back over to the Cove.

[Drake 53]

"Da," said Peter to Chase. When Lila came over to speak to him, he said in reply, "Very well. Watch your back." He glared at Neil, who was now looking back over at him, smirking.

***

Marcus nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but anywhere would be better than the trailer park. Have you ever thought about moving out? Aside from the fact that your dad would probably hunt you down and ground you forever, that is."

[Rogue 4]

Neil smirked at Danny. "No, but I know his sister really well."

***

"I've thought about it..." Natalie said, looking over to him. "There's a lot of reasons why I would...and a few reasons why I'd be afraid to. Either way it's kind of hard to move out at sixteen anyway. And with no credit history it's not like I could get an appartment."

[Drake 53]

"That's the funny thing," Marcus said. "I don't think I have to pay where I'm staying. I mean, I'm sure I'll have to do chores and run errands but I guess the chick who's running the place is pretty well connected with a lot of money. I guess the only hitch is that you'd have to be a mutant in order to stay there." He paused to kick a rock in the sand. "So...have you, y'know, heard anything recently?"

[Rogue 4]

She picked reached down and picked up a rock, throwing it into the ocean. It landed with a plop. "I don't know...maybe. I mean, with you it's a definate. You're human or an animal. With me, it's like...maybe I'm just imagining things? Like maybe those people across the street before were just being loud, or I imagined my dad snoring...or I was paranoid because you were mad at me and imagined you saying that you couldn't trust me..."

Edited May 10, 2008 by Rogue

[Drake 53]

Marcus scratched the back of his head, taking a little too long to respond. Finally, "Ahh...I kinda did...say that, I guess. Back there before you came over to my table. Yeah...."

[Rogue 4]

"There goes your one forgive." Natalie smiled halfheartedly to him before stopping and looking to the ocean. "I really heard you then...that doesn't even make sense to me..."

[Drake 53]

Marcus looked back toward the Cove. They had walked a fair distance down the beach. The music from the concert was faint and the words of the band were lost amid the sounds of the ocean.

"Tell me what they're singing," Marcus said suddenly, a smile crossing his lips. "Concentrate on hearing them. I know you can do it."

Edited May 10, 2008 by Drake

[Rogue 4]

Natalie closed her eyes and sighed before opening them and looking to him seriously. "Don't be ridiculous Mark. We're so far from the Cove that I can barely hear the music, let alone know what they're playing..."

***

"Well, it was nice meeting both of you." Jean said to Kelly and Lance, tucking her red hair behind an ear. She turned to Scott. "Want to go check out the party?"

***

Neil raised his bottle of Smirnoff up in a toast to Piotr Rasputin, amused at his own cleverness. He then took a swig before placing the empty bottle on the table.

[DeltaRanger333 0]

"Sounds great to me!" Scott said turning towards the band "These guys rock!" He grabbed Jeans hand and walked towards the dance floor. "See you guys later!" He yelled looking back. "So, Wanna dance?" He asked Jean, suddenly realizing they were already on the dance floor. "Woops, too late! Guess you're stuck with me now, huh?" he smirked. "So, do you think Pete will play it cool or go all metal boy on us?"

[Rogue 4]

"I'm really hoping he keeps his cool," Jean responded with a sigh. "That doesn't mean it's what he's going to do of course. And you know...you're supposed to ask me to dance before we get to the dancefloor." She informed him, out of slight amusement. She realized that he had been nervous about asking, and just snuck it in there. That's the kind of awkwardness that she supposed came with asking your best friend to dance.

[Drake 53]

"Just humour me. Please?" Marcus asked. "If this doesn't work and you can't hear what they're singing, then I promise that I'll never ever bug you about it again."

***

Peter's mouth tightened into a frown and he nodded back at Neil Travis. He would have his chance and when he and Fusion were alone, Colossus would beat the information about his sister and his family out of him.

"Nice to meet you both," said Hailey with a big smile. "If we don't run into eachother again tonight, then we'll see you tomorrow." Then she turned to Kurt and grabbed him by the arm, pulling for him to follow. "Come dance with me!"

Kurt tried to pull himself free but was failing. "But I have a girlfriend!" he complained.

"Not that kind of dancing, furbrain!" she said, laughing.

"Oh, well okay," said Kurt, finally conceding.

The song that was playing was upbeat so everyone around was dancing on their own or just jumping in place or swaying.

[Mara 29]

Joseph grabbed onto Cat's hand, as they weaved through the crowd to get a better view. He had to admit, they weren't bad. Nothing to write home about, either. But when he really thought about it, it was more for the atmosphere than for the music.

He stopped a few rows from the front and leaned down to her ear. "Is this okay?" he asked loudly to be heard over the bass.

* * * * * * * * *

August left the restroom and headed closer to the Cove. She was thirsty and had forgotten to take anything with her.

[DeltaRanger333 0]

"Yeah, I hope he does too, though I was kind of in the mood for a good fight." He said looking towards Peter. "Looks like he's handling it okay for now. But enough about him, he's a big boy, he can handle it im sure." Looking back at Jean "You know though, I really wish someone had told me that your supposed to ask BEFORE getting to the dance floor. I always thought it was the other way around." Scott said smiling.

For once he just wished he could tell her how he really felt, but it was way too strange. He had no idea what he would do if she didn't like him too. It would make things between them far too awkward.

[Mara 29]

She walked slowly away from the counter, soda in hand, moving through the crowd milling around and at the various tables, carrying on conversations. August thought as she walked about whether she should just head back home. But, no, as much as they annoyed her, they were still her friends. And she wouldn't ditch them. Just... avoid them for a while longer.

With her other hand, she moved a strand of blond hair away and caught her top reflecting purple in her can of soda. August briefly wondered if she was overdressed but moved on through the throng like a maze.

[Rogue 4]

Jean smiled at him, her green eyes meeting his, even through his red-tinged sunglasses. "Well I'm not sure who told you exactly, but it certainly explains why the only high school dance you ever had a date for was the Sadie Hawkins." She joked back with him. She didn't want to admit it, but she was enjoying dancing with Scott like this. She remembered that Sadie Hawkins dance too, and how she had wanted to go with Scott instead of Duncan, who had automatically assumed that she'd ask him. A part of her had been torn too, when she walked into the cafeteria just in time to see Taryn ask Scott there instead. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but she still wished the circumstances had been different.

***

"Well then, I'll try. But only in the interest of proving you wrong." Natalie turned towards the Cove, closing her eyes and trying to listen. She took a deep breath, trying to hear the music better, and immediatly realized just how much noise existed, even in this calm they had found.

The waves crashed down rhythmically, and as she tried to turn the volume up on her hearing she heard them getting louder. She heard the seachells and rocks scratching through the sand, and the billowing ocean wind. She heard a rhythmic, thump, thump, thump... and another, more anxious sounding one. Thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump... It took her a minute to realize that that was her heart. She had never heard it pounding in her ears like that before. And if that was her heart, then she knew the other one had to be Marcus'.

She also, for a split second, heard the music become louder in her ears. Too loud even. She realized as the music, the ocean, the sand, the wind, and their heartbeats came pounding in too fast and too loud for her to understand that she couldn't control whatever it was that she was doing. The noise was so loud, it was deafening, and she began to panic, feeling lightheaded by the second. She fell to her knees in the sand, covering her ears in a feeble attempt to block everything out.

[DeltaRanger333 0]

Scott smiled as their eyes met. "Yeah yeah, rub it in all you want. That dance was okay I guess, but this one is much more fun" he said nervously. He waited for a reaction from Jean, smiling shyly. In some ways he wanted to see Jeans response, but in some ways he was afraid. He took a quick look around at the filled dance floor. "Man, this party is really booming!"he said changing the subject. Scott noticed Kurt and Hailey dancing and nodded to them. He laughed and turned back to Jean. "Wow, Kurt really does dance strange."

[Drake 53]

Marcus knelt down in front of Natalie, covering her hands with his own. "It's alright, Nat," he said quietly, almost a whisper. "Focus on my voice. Shut everything else out."

He knew that she had done it. Perhaps it had been too much to ask of her, having to hear over such a long distance but it had proven what he suspected. Marcus only hoped that Natalie finally believed in her gift.

[Rogue 4]

"He probably learned his moves from you." Jean teased him, but she had to agree. "And dance's are always better when the guests aren't getting attacked by monsters from another dimension. Never did thank Kurt properly for that. And I don't know about Taryn, but Duncan was acting...well, like Duncan I suppose."

***

Natalie slowly let herself calm down, her eyes watering with tears as the noises slowly filtered themselves from her mind. "In a day..." She told him when she had rid the sounds from her head. She was emotionally exhausted. She had really just done it..extended her hearing in a way that nobody else, as far as she knew, could. It both excited and scared her at the same time, and she buried her face in Marcus' shirt. This meant that he was right. She was a mutant. And that meant that there would be a time when people looked to her the way that she had looked to him earlier. She knew about the widespread hatred of mutants. And now, she came to realize, she was one.

[Drake 53]

Marcus rubbed Natalie's back to comfort her. "Hey, it's not really that big of deal when you think about it. Sure, you can hear great but you can hide it and blend in a lot easier. Easier than me, anyway."

[Rogue 4]

She shook her head. "The song Mark...it was 'In a Day'. One of the bands cover-songs of their would-be album, if they ever got a good break."

She breathed deeply. "You get a fun power though. I get the one with the mental baggage. There are things people say that I just don't want to hear. Like what you said before about not trusting me."