When I look back on the time I shared with Barbara, I realize that I was just an immature child compared to her, a respectful and mature young woman, even though she was the younger one. While she was studying to earn a doctorate, I was drinking my parents liquor with my mates. She showed me that class and respect get you higher in the world than being a spoiled rich kid with nothing better to do than spend his families money. She was the most classy, mature, beautiful, and clever woman I had ever met. Her wit and charm could outsmarted anyone in the room.

I can still remember the day I met her, every detail is still etched in my mind. It was a warm summer's day in the countryside, and my mother had left me a note telling me to meet her at the stables. This wasn't unusual for my mother to do, she was always far too busy to walk up the stairs and down the many corridors and hallways that led to my room, and actually tell me herself. So, she would just tell one of the maids to leave the note on my bedside table. But anyway, I took a shower, got dressed, and headed out to the stables.

As I approached, I saw a young woman in riding gear jumping over one of the competition fences with miraculous ease. She trotted over to me while I stood at the fence watching. "And who might you be?" I asked leaning against the fence. "My name is Barbara Lewis, and you?" she asked jumping off her horse and shaking my hand. "I'm Charles Xavier, and may I ask why you are riding my favorite horse, Biscuit?" I asked as I followed her into the stables as she led the horse. "Well, if you must know I am a medical student who was sent to attend some classes" she said with confidence as she locked Biscuit back in her stable. "You still haven't answered my question" I returned moving closer to her. She removed her helmet to reveal flowing blond locks of hair. "Well... to be perfectly honest, I liked his name" she said petting the horse and feeding it some hay. "Still doesn't explain why you are in my stables" I added taking one step closer to her. "So many questions Mr. Xavier! And if you must know, your parents are members of the board of the hospital where the seminar will be taking place, and your mother lovingly agreed to house me for the time I will be spending here in Westchester" she said walking back towards the house. "My mother, loving, I think you've got the wrong woman" I joked as Barbara quietly laughed to herself. "Don't say such things! She IS a lovely woman" Barbara said hitting me with her riding gloves.

"Where is my mother anyway? She told me to meet her at the stables" I questioned while shoving my hands in my pockets. "While we were waiting for you, a maid came out and told her that there was some sort of important situation that needed to be handled, and off she went" Barbara said as her big brown eyes gazed at me. "Well thank goodness that I was met by you and not her" I said with a smile. When it came to charming the opposite sex, I was what one would call a master. "Why do you hate your mother so much?" she asked, which was not exactly the response I was looking for. "She is a evil witch of a woman and I despise her" I remarked matter a factly. "Well, I did not travel for over ten hours to hear you complain about your mother" she said coldly... this was definitely not the way I was planning it at all. "Well, neither did I" I exclaimed, what was happening to me, I never lose my wits!

"Look, I'm going to be frank here. I think you are a very attractive young woman, and I was wondering if you might want to go out on a date with me" I said cutting to the chase and taking her hand in mine. "No" she said matter a factly as she briskly walked down the path, leaving me in the dust. "What?" I asked practically running after her. "We just met only a few moments ago Mr. Xavier, you're being coy" she exclaimed as I speed walked alongside her. "But they were wonderful moments" I said trying to recover. "I hardly know you" she said practically laughing at the thought of it. "We can get to know each other, that is what the date is for!" I answered as we had practically broken into a full on sprint. "Look Charles, I did not come to England for some kind of love affair! I am here for educational purposes only. And the fact that you asked me out without sharing more that five minutes with me, is clearly a very strong show of character on your part" she finished coldly and stomped off. "And by the way, I don't have to say yes to you! And it doesn't matter the reason" she wheeled around to tell me as she pointed her finger in my face and then promptly walked off into the house. "Nice to meet you, too Ms. Lewis" I yelled waving my hand in the air. I had actually screwed something great up with this girl, and not just the usual bimbo at a house party. I felt like an absolute ass for being so forward. Usually when I ask girls out, we're both wasted and horny. It is very rare that I am met with an educated young woman who knows what she wants.

Raven's POV

"You did what?!" I exclaimed raising my voice as both Charles and I had met in the library for afternoon tea, as usual. "I asked her on a date, ok. And then once she turned me down, I might have continued to follow her all the way back to the house trying to sell her on it, but it's not that bad, right?" Charles said pacing around the study. "Well…" I trailed off. "Damn! Why do I always have to be so arrogant" he confessed slumping on the couch next to me. "Look, if you want to make an attempt to fix this, you're going to be especially charming and apologetic at the welcoming dinner tonight, and then just lay low, and whatever you do, do not flirt with her Charles" I said standing up and pointing my finger in his face for effect. "No flirting, ok" he said defeated. "Hey, but don't worry about this, as long as she is a normal girl, she'll fall for you in seconds, ok" I said trying to make him feel better. "But don't you see, she's not normal! And anyway, actually, she's a mutant you know" he said lifting his eyes to meet mine. "What! Well, what are her powers then?" I asked instantly intrigued. "Well, from what I could gather, extremely advanced telekinesis. And get this, that's why she is a medical prodigy, she is able to close and open blood vessels or even keep a heart pumping with her powers" he said leaning back on the couch. "Wow, that's… impressive" I said as Charles held his head in his hands. "I know, right! She's literally perfect" he said standing up and began to pace again. "Well on the bright side, you have two months to fix it. And anyway, why do you care so much about this girl who you just met who's leaving in a few weeks, which you'll probably never see again" I said taking him by the shoulders. I loved Charles like a brother, but sometimes he could be a real sleaze with girls. "You're right, I probably won't even remember this girl a year from now" he said regaining his confidence.

That night at the welcoming dinner Charles' POV

"Everyone, everyone quiet down" my mother said clinking one of the crystal glasses."Please help me in giving a warm round of applause to welcome the talented young Ms. Lewis" she finished as the various doctors and board members applauded for Barbara. "Thank you so much Mrs. Xavier. And my I just say, how grateful I am to this wonderful family for taking me in during my time here in Westchester, and what absolutely lovely people they are" she said gracefully smiling at my mother. "Wow, you were right. She is perfect" Raven leaned over and whispered to me. It was a very formal occasion. Barbara looked absolutely stunning in her evening gown. Her bright smile matched the pearls she wore around her neck.

"Mrs. Polebrook, is it? It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm so sorry I missed lunch with you and Mrs. Xavier this afternoon, something came up at the hospital" Barbara said holding her champagne glass in one hand while shaking the old widow's with the other. "The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Lewis. It's so great to have some real talent associated with the hospital again. You're here for the next month, correct?" Mrs. Polebrook asked as I stood behind the pair listening. "Yes, a month and then I return to Florida" she said almost exhausted by the thought. From what I could get, she disliked living in Florida. She loved her grandmother dearly, but she enjoyed the feel of the countryside much better than the tourist infested beaches of the sunshine state. The neon colors of her grandmother's penthouse were a little too much for her. "Oh, Florida… how foreign" Mrs. Polebrook said looking down on Barbara. In that moment Barbara had remembered a memory from when she was a little girl.

*Flashback*

"Now why did you bite that girl!" Barbara's mom said in a heavy southern accent. She was wearing a blue waitress uniform with red heart shaped glasses over her eyes, she looked exactly like Barbara. So much so, that she seemed to be around nineteen years old. Barbara was in the back of the car with her hair in pigtails. "She said we were trailer trash, and I'm not stupid, I know what that means" four year old Barbara said crossing her arms. "Well, that doesn't mean that you could bite her! I had to get Ruth to cover my shift so I could pick you up early, which was a real pain in the… butt" she yelled looking at Barbara through the mirror. "I'm sorry mommy. It's just that you always say that Lewis girls stick up for themselves" little Barbara said looking down. "And that's right, we do! It's just that you can't go around biting people just because they don't agree with you. And anyway she probably doesn't even know what it means, she just heard her mother say it, that's all" she said mumbling the last part. "Well what am I supposed to do?" she questioned as her mother pulled into the driveway of their double wide. "The next time anyone is rude to you, kill'em with kindness. Just respond with a complement, or change the subject. Show them what a classy, respectable, southern lady you are. Listen, I've have dealt with a lot of rude people in my day, I've had to walk through hell with a smile on my face before, pardon my french. But don't let them get to you, don't show them you're angry, and for christ's sake don't bite them" she said laughing. "Now go and clean your room, ladybug"

*Flash Forward*

"Your dress is absolutely stunning on you, I hope when I'm your age i'll look half as good as you" she said with the biggest smile I had seen on her all night. May I just add that Mrs. Polebrook was a shriveled old bat who looked like she had died years ago. "You truly are a very respectable young lady, Ms. Lewis. I was wondering if you might join my son for a game of tennis one day, he's is right around your age, and very handsome" she said taking another sip of champagne. "All right everybody, it's time to take your seats, the meal will be coming out soon" Mrs. Xavier said sitting at the head of the table. "Wow, well look at that we're seated right next to each other" I said looking at Barbara and I's name cards. "It seems so" she sighed as she sat down and put her napkin in her lap. "You were very impressive back there, not many people get the chance to be a suitor for one of Mrs. Polebrook's perfect children. God knows, I've never been asked" I said sitting down next to her. "What a surprise, I'm sure you would be the perfect son in law" she said sarcastically. "I'm afraid you have me all wrong Ms. Lewis, you seem to have jumped to conclusions all too soon" I said as the first course was brought out. "Well Mr. Xavier, I guess you'll have to prove me wrong" she said winking at me.

The dinner was going amazingly. We were sitting across from Raven, so her and Barbara were introduced. And Barbara was being… well her perfect self. "So how did you get this scholarship so young, most adults fight for it like wild animals?" one society woman laughed and took a bite of her steak. "Well it's quite the story" another one said aghast that she didn't already know. "She performed some sort of miracle procedure to stop the bleeding of some poor man who had been shot in a gas station robbery, it was just awful really. But thank goodness Ms. Lewis was there or else I don't think that poor man would' ve made it" she continued. "You make me sound like some sort of angel, and really, it was all thanks to the amazing emergency responders" she said with true gratitude. "Well, how did you know what to do Ms. Lewis?" Mr. Ashby asked leaning in to make eye contact with her. "Well, it all happened so fast. After the shooter left, I called 911, and then did my best to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding the best I could" she said taking another sip from her glass. "The doctors said it looked like it had just floated out, miraculous really, isn't it" he said obviously trying to get her to slip up. "I do have quite steady hands, and anyway I've always been interested in the medical field, I practically grew up in the hospital when my father was around" she said trying to cover up the fact that it was all just because of her powers. And she was lying about the last part, she had never met her father. "Well, however she did it, let's just be glad that she did" I said trying to help combat the interrogation. "Right you are Charles" Mrs. Xavier said as the guests broke off into their own conversations.

"If you please excuse me" Barbara said to me as she walked out of the dining room. No one really took any notice. In her absence, Mrs. Brown insisted on having a conversation with me about where I wanted to go to university, and also about her recently deceased husband, , which was as light of a conversation as it sounds. Barbara hadn't been back for awhile so I went to go and see where she had gotten off to. "Collins, did you happen to see where Ms. Lewis got off to?" I asked the butler who stood outside of the dining room. "I believe I saw her go out the back door, Mr. Xavier" he said in a deep monotone voice, pointing to the door. "Thank you Collins, and remember, you can call me Charles" I said walking out the back door only to find Barbara smoking. "Oh my gosh! Charles you surprised me" she said dropping her cigarette and stomping it out into the gravel. "You smoke?" I asked surprised that I had finally found a flaw in her character. "Just a little… I have really bad anxiety sometimes, and I just need something to take off the edge. Oh, and thanks for having my back in there, I guess you were right, I made assumptions much too quickly" she said smiling at me, but obviously trying to change the subject. "Well thank you for the chance to redeem myself, I just feel like a complete ass for how I treated you earlier" I said trying to get back on her good side. "Don't worry about it, trust me I've dealt with much worse" she said laughing and leaning up against the wall. "Why did you lie back there, about your father, he left long before you were born" I said hoping she was ready to learn about my powers. "What, how do you know that?" she said instantly shocked. "Because like you, I am also a mutant. I have the ability to read and manipulate minds. And you, Barbara, have the power of telekinesis, correct?" I said taking a step closer. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked walking down the same path we walked down this morning. "And why is it that I'm alway chasing after you, Ms. Lewis?" I joked while going after her. "Maybe, Mr. Xavier, it's because you're always running me off!" she said as I caught up to her and grabbed her arm. "Fine! I lied! Because the truth is that I have no idea what I'm doing here. Yes! I used my powers to save that man's life. But now they want me to go to some ivy league and get my doctorate, and I just have absolutely no clue how I'm going to do it! I mean, for christ's sake, I failed my biology exam last semester! And all anyone ever wants to talk about is how I saved that man's life, and what an angel I was and how it was almost like a miracle! And no, I don't have an answer for them! So yes, I lied and said that my dead beat dad was a doctor, and that I practically grew up in the hospital because that is the only god damn answer I had!" she yelled plopping down onto one of the benches that lined the walkway and pulling out a lighter and a cigarette. She was trying to hold back from sobbing, but a few tears had already fallen down her face. Her hands were shaking so much that she could not get the the lighter to catch, she soon gave up and used her powers to light it and began to smoke. "Hey, don't worry about it, I mean you had me convinced" I said trying to cheer her up. "I'm fine, really. I think I've just had a little too much champagne that's all" she said continuing to smoke. "I'm sure that's it" I said sitting down next to her and putting my arm around her shoulders. "Oh, what am I going to do! I can't go back in there like this" she said wiping her mascara stained tears away. "We don't have to go back in there, how about we go to my thinking place" I said standing up and giving her my hand. "That sounds a bit childish, if you ask me" she said standing up and brushing herself off. "You are mistaken my dear, it's where I do my most profound thinking, and it also happens to be where I hide the liquor" I said as we began to walk down the pathway.

"What do you want to do with your life, Charlie?" Barbara asked propped up against one of the walls in the old abandoned ground keeper's house, taking another swig from the bottle. "I want to open an academy for people like us, mutants, who can not only learn academics, but how to control their powers and live long, normal lives in a safe environment. How about you?" I said lying on the old dusty rotting floor looking at the stars through the fallen in ceiling of the cottage. "I guess a doctor, or surgeon or something. I don't really have much of a choice anymore" she said joining me on the floor. "No" I said correcting her. "You made a choice when you told the headmaster of that college that you would happily take the scholarship. You made a choice" I said reading her as we layed next to each other. "You don't understand. When you're just another insignificant student with nothing setting you apart from the crowd, you take an early acceptance full ride scholarship to one of the best medical universities in the country. So no, I didn't really have a choice. And anyway it's the fastest way to get out of Florida. But don't get me wrong, I want to use my powers for good and all, if the medical field is the way to do it, that's fine by me. And please, don't read my mind" she said sitting up and taking another swig. "I can't help it, darling. But anyway, why are so insistent on leaving Florida in the first place? From what I can tell you have a pretty nice life there, you live in a penthouse, your grandmother is rarely home, you've got a nice boy friend" I said trailing off. "I don't like the memories there. And Tommy's not my boyfriend anymore. I broke up with him after I caught him and Betty hooking up in the pool house. Oh I was so angry I almost set the curtains on fire. But then I remembered how dull and dim witted he was and how happy I was for him and Betty" she said laughing. "Do you tend to ramble a lot when you're intoxicated?" I asked rubbing the temples of my forehead. "I told you to stop reading my mind!" she said sitting up and looking at me. "I didn't have to, love" I said returning her gaze. "Oh… sorry, and yes I do tend to ramble a bit" she said understanding my hint and laying back down. "Well, I'll tell you what Charlie. If we ever meet each other again, in the near future, I promise on my life that I will help you run your school. Hell, I could even be the damn school nurse. Whaddya think?" she dramatically proclaimed holding up the bottle. "I think you're absolutely smashed" I said laughing out loud and taking a drink from the bottle. "Would you like to go on a date with me? I mean, I think we've gotten to learn a lot about each other, and it's been a whole day. So I think that I fit all the criteria you presented me this morning" I asked sitting up and going through the events of the morning. "No" she said standing up. "What do mean no!" I yelled standing up and walking over to her, rather aggravated by her answer. "Just kidding, of course, I would love to go on a date with you" she said leaning in so close to my face that I could count everyone of her eyelashes. "Would you mind if I kissed you, Ms. Lewis?" I asked leaning in even closer. "Not a bit, Mr. Xavier" she answered as our lips met in that old abandoned cottage. "Hey they're wonder- Oh! Ah… sorry guys, guess I should have knocked" said Raven standing in the threshold of the cottage. "No worries, would you care to join us, we've got boos" I joked, secretly mad that the mood was ruined. "Why the hell not, they've begun to talk politics and that's usually when I take my polite exit anyway" Raven said grabbing the bottle out of Barbara's hands and taking a gulp.