A/N: Well, it has been a while since I've written anything so go easy on me in the reviews. I've had a lot of time to sit and do nothing since I broke my foot and injured my back. I promise this is an X-Men fic. When I wrote the first chapter it came out to 12 pages so I cut it into 2 chapters. Like I said it has been a while since I've written anything so give me your honest opinion. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

"I'm fifteen. I don't look fifteen." I commented as I stood in front of the mirror.

"Does anyone want to look fifteen?" Sara asked as she rummaged around in my closet.

I tried to brush my hair into some sort of order. "I'd rather look fifteen than twelve."

"You don't look twelve… Here let me." Sara grabbed the brush out of my hand and started braiding my hair to copy the braid in her's. She always was better at this than I was.

I sighed and looked at the two of us in the mirror. Except for the braid and the matching purple cheerleading outfits we looked nothing alike. Sara stood a good three inches taller than me, had curves where I had nothing. And then there was her pride and joy: her hair. Today it was purple, in honor of the Homecoming game tonight, while mine was an unruly dark brown, almost black.

"I look twelve," I restated.

"No you don't. You look… young but you look cute. Guys like cute."

"Which guys? Pedophiles?"

"Not the guys I had in mind," she answered in a flat tone. "But believe me, I know of a few high schoolers that would love some one on one time with you. Plus, I would kill for your green eyes."

I sighed as someone called for me downstairs.

"Megs! If you're not in the truck in 5 minutes I'm leaving without you!"

We ignored it and continued getting ready.

"So did you start your history project?"

"Not yet, I was waiting for the weekend to do it."

"I'm not joking! I'll leave you here!" he called it again. We continued to ignore.

"Hey, did you get that link I sent you?"

"I got it, but I didn't open it yet. Anything good?"

My bedroom door was kicked in by a tall dark haired teen in a football jersey.

"Megan!" my cousin Jeff yelled. He froze in his tracks when he saw two pairs of eyes staring back at him instead of one. "Sara? When the hell did you get here?"

"It's my bestie's birthday. I was here at midnight," she said with a smile.

"Ooooookay. Anyways, we gotta go," he said throwing my jacket at me.

"Alright, alright!"

I took one last look in the mirror before putting on my jacket. Jeff waited at my door with his arms crossed as I gathered everything I needed; homework, purse, money for Homecoming dance tickets (even though I don't have a date yet), alternate cheerleading uniform, and… and…

"Let's go!" he yelled.

Oh well, whatever I needed its getting left behind now. The three of us raced down the stars and out the door past Aunt Lilly and Uncle Marty drinking coffee on the porch swing.

"Jeff, remember our deal!" Aunt Lilly called as we went past. "12:30!"

"What does that mean?" I questioned stopping for a sec.

"Nothing, just get in."

I barely had time to wave goodbye as Jeff shoved me in his pickup truck. Today was his favorite part of football season, the Homecoming breakfast feast. It's a stupid tradition where the football players and cheerleaders get together on the day of the Homecoming game and eat a home cooked country breakfast. It's a kinda lame, but in a small town like South Mason, stupid traditions are all we have.

"Take it easy! I want to live to see sixteen," Sara complained as we sped around a corner.

"You don't get it. I have to get a good seat. The bacon starts at one end of the table and goes down. If I'm not at that end I'll get nothing," Jeff explained. "Crap, why is 8th backed up?"

I looked around at the commotion in the street as we passed. The police and fire department had half the street blocked off. I saw dozens of people were crowded around the barricades.

Then I saw what they were all looking at.

"Guys… the Sub Shop…"

We all stared as we approached the scene. The Sub Shop, a two story building made of gray brick, was the main hang out in town. Usually at this time it was filled with customers eating the fresh pastries and drinking coffee, but all that was left now was broken glass and piles of rubble. The upstairs, that use to be the apartment of the owners, was now only smoke.

"Hey Cooper. Coop!" Jeff called out the open window to one of the firefighters nearby.

"Hey Jeff… ladies…"

He winked and my cheeks went red. Jeff became a little annoyed and snapped his fingers in Cooper's face.

"Coop, focus. What happened?"

"Not too sure. The alarm went off at 4 and when we got here the place was cooking. We had to evacuate the entire block."

"Are the Parkers okay?" I asked from my seat.

"They're on vacation in New York this week. We've been trying to reach them all morning."

The four of us sat there taking in the scene. The building was completely destroyed. Too bad, it was one of the only places a teen could find work that wasn't on a farm.

There was a slight wind that swirled the ashes around and blew smoke into the car. I could smell the burnt bread, cooked salami, and… and something else. Something hidden…

"It was arson," I said without hesitation.

"What? Naw, this probably was just an electrical fire. The wiring in these old buildings are crap," Jeff argued.

I shook my head. "I smell gas… its faint but its there. This was definitely arson."

"We haven't had an arson in years. This is an acci…" Jeff trailed off when he saw the look on Cooper's face. "Right?"

"Your cousin has a good nose," Cooper said softly. "I guess I'll let you in. There was evidence that this was directed at the Parkers. We got rid of it as soon as we documented it."

"What kind of evidence?" Sara asked copying Coop's hush tone.

Cooper looked around before leaning in. "They spray painted 'MUTIE SCUM' on the front wall."

My jaw dropped. This was a hate crime, human on mutant, something very dangerous for a town like ours.

You see, the history of South Mason, Montana is a closely guarded secret. About 75 years back South Mason was a struggling farm town. There was only a hand full of residents left when a mutant family moved in escaping the intolerance of their old home. The farmers welcomed the family and protected them. Soon more mutants came for their protection and the town bounced back. Today the community is made of mostly mutant families. We live openly and without fear.

Of course we have our rules to live by. We can't go overboard or use our gifts for extreme personal gain. The town council monitors all activities that deal with the neighboring communities, like school sports. Jeff can breathe under water but the school won't let him compete on the swim team due to an unfair advantage over the others. We have to be, 'respectful of ourselves and others' to quote my history teacher.

We also have to stay hidden.

"You can't tell anyone," Cooper stressed. "If this gets out… I don't know what would happen." We agreed.

"We'll keep it to ourselves," Jeff assured him, "Gotta run. Homecoming breakfast."

"Nice, you guys have fun. Tell everyone I say hi."

Jeff's beater truck weaved through the crowd and back on track towards our destination. We rode in silence for a while. I couldn't believe it, a mutant hate crime this close to home.

"Damn it," Jeff exclaimed with concern on his face. "Now where am I going to take B for dinner before the dance?"

"Wait, what?" Sara asked in disbelief from the back seat. I shook myself out of deep thought and looked at him. "You were going to take your Homecoming date to the Sub Shop for dinner? And I thought romance was dead."

"What? I'm sort on cash? Where are you guys going?"

I turned my attention back to the passing scene and Sara leaned in between us. "Well, Bronco and I…"

"Bronco?"

"Yeah, you know, the junior who can turn into a horse."

"Ah… "

"Well, we're going to that great Italian place by the Mega Mart. However the birthday girl has been keeping quiet on this subject." She gave me a look out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh really? So Megan, what are you doing tomorrow night?" He smirked, like he was expecting me to reveal some big secret, but I just fiddled with the folds in my skirt.

"Nothing I guess. Maybe a Harry Potter marathon with Aunt Lilly?"

Jeff's jaw dropped a bit. "What? You're not going? Don't you have a date?"

"No."

"How's that possible?" He sounded honestly shocked.

"Let's see, I look twelve, no boys like me, and there's that threat you made a few years ago. Something about hunting down guys who looked at me and using them as bait for fishing?"

"That was when you were ten. You're a freshman now. You can date… the guys I like."

I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, should we be worried about what happened at the Sub Shop?"

"What do you mean?" Sara asked as we pulled into the local farm near school that was housing the breakfast.

"What if these people come back? What if they found out about the entire town? Shouldn't we warn people?"

"No." Jeff decided. "You heard what Coop said. Besides, Mr. Parker is known for his gambling. It was probably just his bookie getting back at him."

"But what if…"

"Meg, drop it. This is a safe place." He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Remember we promised we wouldn't say anything."

"Fine."

There was no arguing with Jeff. He doesn't believe people can be evil. A quality I love about him, but I know his judgment is clouded. He's a third generation resident in South Mason. He's been protected by these borders all his life. He thinks everywhere is as tolerant as this place.

However, I know better. Not by personal experience, but the hatred in the outside world is why I was left here when I was a baby. My mom was young, scared, alone, and completely positive I was going to be born with the X-Gene. She searched everywhere for a foster family she could trust to take me in. I think she found a great one. Aunt Lilly, Uncle Marty, and Jeff aren't blood, but they're as good as.

We parked and Sara and I headed over to the barn that was decorated in purple and white streamers and a huge 'Go Wildcats' banner. In the entrance was a group of giggling varsity cheerleaders. They saw us coming and stepped in our path.

"Freshman, did you remember to bring your eggs?" the captain of the varsity squad asked pointing a finger in my face. Crap. That's the thing I forgot.

"Um… they hatched?" It sounded more like a question when it came out. The girl in front of me did not try to hide her distaste.

"Sure they did. Just go inside and do something productive."

There was a tug from deep inside my gut. Every cell in my body wanted to pounce on her and push her face in the dirt. I wanted her to hurt. Of course, then I would be benched from the game and I really didn't want that. So I did the only thing I could do. I hung my head low and silently walked away.

"Wow, what a bitch," Sara said loud enough for everyone to hear. "She only hates you because Jeff won't give her the time of day."

"That makes absolutely no sense," I stated, putting on a faded apron that one of the football moms handed me.

We were put to work cooking a feast big enough for an army. Sara and I were in the group making pancakes. With every batch of mix Sara was asked to work her magic. Like most of our class, Sara is a mutant. She can change the properties of colors. Her powers work best on inks and dyes but she has changed other things. In a few short seconds each bowl of batter was a deep shade of purple. By the time we were done we had made enough ham, eggs, hash browns, pancakes, toast, and bacon to fill everyone's plate and then some. I was even able to sneak Jeff his own side of bacon.

"I want to say something!" Coach John announced as everyone was finishing up. "I want to say thank you to everyone who has helped out this week. I look around and know that when we work together we can do anything… including beating Chester High tonight!" We all cheered and some of the boys started barking.

"Wow, that's disturbing," Sarah whispered in my ear. We watched as the football players started getting worked up during Coach's speech. They were hitting each other and grunting.

"I'm so glad I'm female," I whispered back cleaning up a few dishes.

"So… you really haven't found a date to the dance yet?"

"Nope." I eyed the now chanting group of guys in the center of the barn. "And after this I don't think I want to."

"Sure you do… what about Tyler?"

"Tyler? Tyler Walden? Jeff's best friend?"

"Of course him. He's had a crush on you since forever!"

"No he hasn't. Besides, he's a senior and probably has a date already."

"If you say so…"

We finished cleaning up before loading back into the truck. We were excused for the first hour of school but I really needed to get back for the second. As I walked in the front doors a strange feeling came over me. I didn't know it then, but this would be the last day I'd be walking through these doors as a student. Somewhere, things were being set in motion that would change my life forever.