IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER.

I had to do a bit of research for this one, and I'm pretty sure everything is period appropriate. And sorry if it sucks. I just had to write something to get back into the swing of things. Which took longer than expected. This is version 5, to give you an idea of how difficult this was to finally get out.

Bars weren't Alex's thing. He never liked crowds- there were too many variables, too many things that could set him off. Throw in drunk, angry men looking for a fight, and it's a time bomb. Alex learned enough lessons the hard way in his life to know to avoid any triggers. But lately, the mansion had become so busy, so overrun with screaming children, that he needed a break from it. Some of the guys were going out, like they did every Saturday night. They always invited Alex, but this was his first time to ever accept the offer. He was desperate to get a change of scenery, even if it was a crappy bar.

Alex had been sitting at a table in the corner of the room for nearly two hours. Thanks to Charles, Alex's patience and control had grown considerably. But he didn't dare test either one while drinking, so he stuck to Coke. Besides, it seemed like Sean was getting drunk enough for everyone, taking advantage of his recent eighteenth birthday. Though, watching him was only entertaining for so long. Alex knew he'd end up having to drive home before they even left the mansion, but was still stewing over the fact that he would have to wait until they were ready to leave.

The mansion had grown considerably since Alex first met Charles and Erik. There were a lot more students, his age and younger. For the first time in years, Alex felt comfortable. He had friends and a nice, supportive, and stable place to live. Or at least as stable as a mansion full of young mutants learning to control their abilities could be.

As time progressed, the crowd in the bar grew more rowdy. The occupants were thoroughly drunk, the volume was rising, and Alex could feel the mounting tension. Despite all of his efforts with Charles, he still sometimes felt like he was a slave to his power. People were starting to bump into the table, his chair, make rude comments, and he could feel his temper rising. In all of his time at the mansion, Alex found his best bet at controlling his anger was to remove himself from the situation.

Shrugging on his jacket, Alex abandoned his table and walked out into the parking lot. The night air was chilly, as it was already late November. Alex figured the guys still had a few hours left in them, and he wasn't exactly fond of sitting out in the parking lot for the rest of the night. The cold was already penetrating his jacket, and the tip of his nose and his fingers were starting to go a bit numb. Being a small town, the closest places to go were back to the mansion, or across the street to the A&P or an old diner. He wasn't hungry, and felt like there would be more entertainment at the grocery store. Dodging the few cars still out on the road, Alex ran across the street and into the warm, brightly lit store.

It was deserted inside, just absolutely empty, save for a lone customer checking out, and the bored looking girl ringing up and sacking his goods. Alex walked up and down the aisles, landing in front of the magazines and newsstand. He didn't really care about current events, but scanned the headlines out of sheer boredom. All of his friends were across the street having the time of their young lives, chatting up pretty girls and getting completely drunk, and he was reading a newspaper in a grocery store.

Bored with the newspaper, Alex moved on to an auto magazine. He wasn't really into cars. He didn't even own one. He flipped through the pages quickly, only stopping to admire an occasional nice looking car that he knew nothing about.

"This isn't a library." Alex looked up, dropped the magazine he was holding in surprise, and looked up to see the cashier. Her hands were in her apron, a frown on her face. Her disapproving gaze made Alex feel uncomfortable as he mumbled out an apology. She continued to stare at him, her eyebrows drawn together, the corners of her mouth slightly downturned.

To avoid her gaze, Alex picked up the magazine and returned it to its spot on the shelves.

Shooting him one last withering stare, the girl turned around and went back to her post at the only open lane.

After overcoming his initial shock, Alex couldn't keep the smirk off of his face. The girl was cute. She looked like she was around his age. Basically the same height as him, if not a bit shorter. Her hair was a light brown, tied up in a red ribbon at the base of her neck. She was wearing the store's uniform, and looked completely drained.

Sensing another form of entertainment, Alex abandoned the magazines and trailed after her, following her to the check-out.

"What?" she demanded as she perched herself on the edge of a stool behind the register, opening up some fashion magazine.

"Do you treat all of your customers with such grace and hospitality?" Alex joked, hoping his teasing came off as charming. She glanced up at him from her magazine briefly, before turning her attention back to the page.

"Are you going to rob me?" she asked earnestly, looking up from her magazine completely. She eyed him for a moment, chuckled to herself, and went back to her magazine. Obviously, she didn't deem him as a threat, causing Alex to frown. Not that he was a bad guy, or wanted people to think that he was. But Alex knew girls liked bad boys, and she clearly had no interest.

Up close, Alex could clearly see a smattering of freckles along her cheekbones. She was wearing eye make-up, but it had been smudged, and Alex could just picture her rubbing her eyes to stay awake, messing it up. She was just flat out cute. Everything about her appearance, her features, screamed cute. Everything but her personality. She was tough.

"So, what's your name? I'm Alex," he said, hoping to strike up a friendly conversation with the girl to get on her good side. She lifted her gaze from the magazine and stared at him, though this time she looked at him as if he was stupid, with one eyebrow raised, a half smile on her lips. She remained silent.

Alex panicked. He couldn't figure out what her expression meant. He ran a nervous hand through his hair. It took him a minute to finally notice her name tag.

"Oh. Claire." Alex smiled awkwardly, not sure what else he could do in the situation. He was sure Claire thought he was an idiot.

Normally Alex was cool and confident. But the last time he had ever really been around a girl that he had any chance with was years ago. Well before juvey, Cuba, Charles. Even before his mutation kicked in. He knew he was good looking, but his mutation always got in the way. Alex had no flirting experience.

"You must be new around here. Or else I would have seen you in school. Unless you're one of those home school freaks," Claire laughed. She didn't know the half of it.

"I actually was kind of home schooled. I've been here for a couple of years, though," Alex hadn't set foot in a public school in years, and he didn't think it was the appropriate time to tell her why. So, he stuck with being home schooled. It was almost true, anyway. Charles had done his best to prepare Alex for the GED exam, and Alex nailed it on the second try.

"Must be a southern thing," she shrugged. Claire was starting to get borderline offensive, but Alex found it charming in an odd way. Alex could hide his past and what he was, but he couldn't cover up the southern accent. Sean made fun of it any opportunity he could.

"So are you still in school?" Alex asked, hoping she was at least a senior.

"I graduated last year," she answered simply. Alex did the math and figured she was at the most a year younger than him. "So are you going to buy anything?"

Alex frowned. He had hoped that he could steer the conversation towards something more interesting, or flirtatious even. But she clearly had no interest. He grabbed a candy bar and a pack of chewing gum from the rack next to her register and put them on the counter, pulling out his wallet.

"Eleven cents," she said boredly, waiting for Alex to pay. He dropped the coins on the counter. They both waited for the receipt to print, and she ripped it from the roll. Claire pulled a pen from her apron pocket and scribbled something down on the paper and handed it to him. Alex pocketed the candy and gum, and tried to decipher her handwriting.

"My hours," she said, a smirk on her lips, noticing his trouble reading her terrible handwriting.

"What's it for?" he asked, returning the smirk. He knew perfectly well why she had given him her schedule.

"You really are stupid, aren't you?" she laughed.

A loud banging coming from the front of the store caught Claire and Alex's attention. Sean had pressed himself against the glass of the large windows and was banging his fist against the glass. He was calling Alex's name, trying to get his attention.

"Friend of yours?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Alex apologized, embarrassed by his drunken friend.

"Get him home. Now I have to clean his face print off of the glass." Claire sighed, watching Sean still trying to get Alex's attention.

"I'll see you around," Alex said sheepishly. He hoped she hadn't lost interest thanks to Sean. He left the store as quickly as possible, pulling Sean away from the window and back across the street to the car.

More are to come! Please, if you want to see something, leave a suggestion! They help me write faster!