"I'm a psychic" Charles claimed as his only defense. The teacher's eye brow raised with annoyance, but said calmly, "You wrote the exact same thing on your paper. That is what we call cheating."
His parents chuckled with their friends over cocktails telling the story of Charles when he first started school.
Charles caught their thoughts of the story ruefully. He hadn't been able to control his powers very well back then. It was terrible to be testing in a room full of people thinking answers, and sometimes he couldn't tell whether it was his own thought or someone else's.
Charles recalled, after his endless denials and explanations, they took him to a child psychologist. It was then he realized his power was something he had to hide.
By the time he hit puberty he had another thing to hide, his sexuality. It had been a slow realization, and he knew everyone of his classmates that shared it. He knew that nobody, even the ones that practiced it, actually accepted of it. He pretended to hit on girls with the other guys, just like Raven pretended not to be blue, and that he also wasn't psychic. It was necessary that was all, just another secret to add to his growing list.
But that all changed the day he met Erik. He always did a quick brain sweep when he first met someone, and Erik's was electrifying. He had never thought someone could be so unashamed of who they were and what they had done. It was like reading an open book. It just flowed. All Charles could do was stare into the blue eyes of the other man. He had killed, for justice, boldly used his power, for pride, never held back, for love. Charles lips parted as if to say something but Erik flashed him a weary look and it all closed. Charles realized how awkwardly silent he had been since entering the room.