Jessica smiled as she spun around in front of her mirror to check her outfit. It was the first day of her senior year, and with everything that had been going on, she needed this to go well. She threw a gray hoodie on top of her adorable outfit and poked her head out of the window. There seemed to be no one there, so she grabbed her bookbag and cimbed out onto the fire escape. The coast was clear, so she shot Keith a text before starting her journey to school.

Darting through crowds and generally trying to blend in, she felt very much like a spy. As she walked down a busy road, trying to be inconspicuous, a large black man in a tracksuit walked up to her.

"You need to remember your own breakfast," said the familiar voice of her best friend as he handed her a granola bar. She smiled.

"How many pillows did it take to get that look?" she asked him. He shrugged and they continued to walk in silence.

When they were about a block away from the school, they started to notice a swarm of people who were far too old to be students. They had crowded around almost every door the building had.

"Plan 23?" Keith suggested. Jessica nodded and used her special skill to play audio of them running away from reporters in the middle of the crowd. They all jostled around, trying to get a photo of the teens.

"Good job," he said as he grabbed her hand and ran towards the often forgotten theatre doorway. He pushed it open and did not let out a sigh of relief until it was firmly closed, leaving them in the wings. Jessica was panting, although whether from emotional or physical stress, he didn't know.

"We have, like, ten minutes before classes start," he said, "We should change." Nodding, she pulled off her hoodie and shook her pixie cut into place.

They had all gotten minor injuries from the fire. Jessica had had most of her hair burnt off as well as her left ankle sprained. Hector had gotten some nasty burns on his arms. Lisa had, in her clumsiness, slipped on the gasoline and ended up breaking her right ankle. And he? He had gotten a scar over his left eye from a piece of glass as Jessica had pushed him to the ground.

"I'm never gonna get over how short your hair is," he said, shaking his head with a chuckle. She pouted as she unzipped the hoodie.

"Oh, come on, Jess!" he said, "You look great. I'm just still used to, you know," he gestured the large, poof of curls that he was accustomed to. She rolled her eyes and started to unstuff him.

"How long did this take you?" she asked him in disbelief as she pulled out yet another pillow."

"About thirty minutes," he said with a shrug, "But we're cutting it close today. I really do think we should get here as early as possible."

"Still in disguise?" she asked, focusing on getting him out of costume more than the conversation.

"Yeah, I think I'll be a woman tomorrow to mix it up," he said thoughtfully.

"You need a bra, Keith," she said as she played with his jammed zipper, "I don't think that's something your dad has lying around."

"No, but you do," he said, "Come on, Jess. We have to keep on the downlow."

"You just wanna see if you'd make a hot girl," she said, "Fine, we can get you one. If anyone sees us, though, we're preparing for an English project on Shakespeare."

"What happened to not lying?" he said teasingly.

"Everything," she said seriously as she walked off, most likely to go to her locker.

"PICKLES!" he screamed, "MARSHMALLOWS AND PICKLES AND WAFFLES AND BAAAAARNACLES!" He was spinning around in a circle screaming whatever words popped into his head, confusing all the adults surrounding him.

"I'M A BANANA! EDWARD CULLEN! SQUIRREL! PIANO! MARMALADE! KITTY CATS! WOOF WOOF! MOO! MARGARITA! ENCHILADA! SO HERE'S MY NUMBER, AND CALL ME MAYBE!" he was now singing the Carly Rae Jepsen song as he jumped around in a circle, dancing ferociously. The people around him were nervously backing away.

"IT'S HARD TO LOOK RIGHT AT YOU BABY," he sang/screamed as the crowd parted for him, "SO CALL ME MAYBE!" He noticed someone's flash go off and took it to mean that they wanted something more bizarre.

"MY LONLINESS IS KILLING ME, I MUST CONFESS: I STILL BELIEVE. WHEN I'M NOT WITH YOU I LOSE MY MIND. GIVE ME A SIGN. HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!" This song was disturbing a greater population, and soon he could actually see the door to school. He began twerking, seeing few other options, which cleared the path so he could run in and hide for a few hours. He walked towards his locker, trying not to notice the large amount of people staring at him. He was used to getting strange looks from people. It was just new that he hadn't earned them.

Shock watched as Hector made a report to the police. People had been swarming the diner with picket signs and cameras, but few did more than yell. Some even ordered something to go. But when the two of them had gotten there, the glass of the windows was shattered, stabbing booths. Rocks had been thrown with slurs on them. Being friends with the people he was, Shock thought he understood the power of words. But it only truly dawned on him when he had seen Hector's face after picking up a rock that said "mutant."