A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever, so please don't hate on me too much...anyways, this is an introduction more than a first chapter, just to sort of set the stage. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! :) - PietasterSkeletone

"You owe me a dollar," Alex whispered from where he and Sean were perched on the grand staircase, hiding just out of sight while Professor X briefed a new student on the school.

"Fine." Sean forked over the wrinkled bill.

"I knew the new recruit would be a girl," Alex smirked, pocketing the money. "But I didn't think she'd have purple hair."

"It's…a statement." Sean shrugged. "At least it'll take some of the flak off of my red hair."

"You have Irish roots, people understand."

"No, you understand, I-"

"Mr. Cassidy and Mr. Summers will be glad to show you around, seeing as they've been spying on us since you walked in." Charles turned up at the foot of the stairs, rolling his eyes at the boys. "You two can hide all you want, but I can still hear your thoughts."

"Oh." Sean blushed. "Yeah, kinda forgot that one, oops!" He shrugged it off, eyeing the new girl as she joined Charles at the base of the staircase. She was tall, really tall, taller than himself, at least and skinny with purple hair and green eyes. It was definitely a look.

"Well, this is Lacey, she's an empath. Lacey, this is Alex Summers and Sean Cassidy, they were two of my first students, and they will help you get comfortable." Charles smiled and wheeled off, leaving the three students.

"An empath, eh?" Sean tilted his head to the side. "What's that?"

"I can sense the emotions of the people around me," she stated.

"Wait…" Sean gulped. "S-seriously?" He stood up, backing up a few steps instead of moving closer.

"Yeah." Lacey nodded, smiling.

"Great, that's so cool, um, I just remembered, I left something in my room that I really, really need. Bye!" He took off up the stairs, leaving Alex and Lacey standing together.

"That was weird." Alex frowned. "He's really friendly, I promise, that wasn't like him, maybe he's not feeling well or something. He's a fun guy, you'll really like him."

"So he's not always running off like that?" Lacey asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, not at all, something must be wrong with him. Like I said, he's probably got like a stomach ache or something."

"Nope." Lacey shook her head. "It's not a physical thing. He's sad."

"What are you talking about?" Alex shook his head. "Sean's not sad, he's like…the happiest guy I know! He's always cracking jokes and having a good time."

"Maybe on the outside," Lacey stated. "And maybe it's just today, but right then, before he ran off, he was sad."

"But that doesn't make any sense, we were having a good day! He was laughing and flying around and-"

"He can fly?" Lacey asked.

"Sort of, he screams and he rides the sound waves – it's complicated, but really cool." Alex sighed. "But he's sad? You're sure? I mean if you're here, you can't really be all that in tune with your powers, right?"

"I suppose that I could have messed up," Lacey admitted. "I'm not the most practice, but there was a definite presence of sadness, and it went down when he left, so I'm guessing it was him. Besides," she looked at Alex. "You saw the way he ran when he heard about my power. He's hiding something from you, and I think his emotions might be just the thing."

"But…" Alec frowned. "Why would he do that? I'm his best friend, if he's sad, I want to help him…"

"Look, I just got here, I don't have all the answers, but my suggestions? Talking to him might be the best, tell him you know about his emotional issues and then maybe he'll just come to terms with you!"

"Yeah, later, right now, I'll show you around, okay?"

"Alright." Lacey nodded. "And for the record, I think it's nice."

"Think what's nice?"

"How much you care about him." Lacey smiled. "Empath, remember? I can tell how worried you are right now, and unless you think the sky is about to start falling, it's a pretty safe bet you're worried about your friend."

"Oh." Alex bit his lip. "Yeah…anyways, this way to the rooms, we'll get you settled and then I'll show you the grounds." He took off around the house, not sure how he felt about Lacey. It was going to be rough having someone around who could always tell where his emotions were.