Chapter 1

Just Another Day

Disclaimer- I do not own the story/idea of X-men or the characters, just my original character Brooke…also if there are ones that you have no clue who they are, they're probably original characters too.

When I was little, I used to love going out with my father at the end of the day to one of the many hills in our backyard and watch the sun set over the lake in the distance. He had even built a swing set in between two thick trees so we didn't have to sit on the itchy straw that popped out in patches among the grass.

Each clear night, it was just me and my daddy. Just us watching the sun fade over the dark blue water and stain it in colours of reds and orange as it was swallowed into the lake. We would stay out there until the last remnants of the day had disappeared into the night. Only then would we get off the swing and head back for home.

Those nights were our time; he would remind me how much he loved me, and that I was the daughter had had always dreamed of having – and more. I was too young to really understand how much he cared for me, or to tell him how much I loved him. But I think he always knew. He was that kind of guy.

He told me he would always be there for me.

He told me he would never leave me alone.

He told me I was his best friend.

And he was mine.

My name is Brooke Stevens, I'm sixteen years old, soon to be sixteen, and I live with my mother in New Orleans. My older brother got out of high school last year and is living in Alberta right now. My father died two years ago in a car crash. A two-car, front-end collision, that's what I'm told happened. But anyway back to the present.

So a little about me, I have medium length, brown sun streaked hair, brown eyes, and am about five feet and six inches tall… I think… Right now, I live with my mother in New Orleans, Louisiana. Not by choice anyway. We used to live in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, in a little town that if I wrote down you would choke yourself trying to say it out loud. I had a happy life there. It was my home. After my father died two years ago, my mother said she couldn't handle living there with all the memories, so a year later we got everything organized and moved here so she could pursue her painting career.

I wasn't happy. Even though she does make a lot for her career… That doesn't matter. But I've been here long enough to make some friends so I'm not entirely lonely.

Now, I'm just concentrating on walking to school, in the cold January air, surprisingly there's still no snow, without being hit by the autos hurtling down the road and making through my grade eleven education…

I sighed. Stupid school.

"Hey Brooke!"

I turn around, eyes wide in surprise, to see Erin running at me. She has her hair down, as she always did. I think she does it just because mine's always up, but don't mention that in front of her… She wore denim flared jeans along with an off the shoulder white top.

"Morning, Erin," I replied. I wore my own loose baggy jeans along with an old soccer t-shirt. I could wear more girly-er clothes, but I don't really see the need to, I like my comfy clothes. Besides that, I'm way too lazy to get myself together in the morning and attempt to put any more care into my appearance.

"Brooke?"

"What?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

"I said 'what' didn't I?" I grinned to the side as she seethed angrily.

She got over it quickly, as she always did. This was one reason our friendship has lasted so long, when it was obvious that we were completely different.

"Anyway, I asked if you watched the news yesterday?" she asked as we stepped through the doors into the school.

I looked over to her in a confused fashion, "What is this 'news' you speak of?" I asked, making the air quotes and everything.

"Right," Erin drawled back, "you are so weird sometimes." I grinned back in response. "They were going on about how these mutant people are looking for more mutant people," she said in a deathly serious whisper. I opened my locker and got my books out. Only a few odds and ends fell out today. Accomplishment? Yes indeedy.

"That's nice," I remarked offhandedly, stuffing my belongings into my already bloated book bag.

We walked into homeroom together.

"That's not even the best part!" she whispered in excitement. She brought her face closer to mine and looked around the almost empty classroom to ensure that no one was listening. "They're supposed to be in town – today!"

I gasped in fake horror, then once more adopted my usual bored expression.

"So? I'm not a mutant. I have nothing to worry about."

Little did I know how much I would grow to regret saying those words…

I sighed happily. Ah, sweet lunchtime. My favourite part of the school day. Walking through the backyard of the school, I headed over to a bunch of picnic tables Erin and I use as our meeting place so we could go and get our lunch together. The sun was on the other side of the school, so the entire yard was covered in shadows, making everything cool enough to enjoy the lunchtime break. Stupid duty teachers won't let us inside to eat, something about a food fight… well they're not uncommon!

I saw Erin standing about fifty feet away and waved to get her attention. She didn't do anything in response. I waved a little bit harder, heedless of the fact that a few younger students had to avoid my failing arms. I squinted my eyes, that WAS Erin… why was she ignoring me? I stopped waving. I wasn't about to start yelling at her, I didn't want to give any more of the student population reason to think that I was a bit strange.

I kept walking towards Erin, fully intending to give her a piece of my mind. 'Ignore me will she?…' It was as if she were looking straight through me.

Huh. Weird.

I walked up to her. She was standing at the corner of the school with the sun beaming down on her, she was scouting out the crowds with the sun glaring into her eyes.

I never said she was the brightest crayon in the box now, did I?

I stepped away from the building and stood in front of her.

"Who are you looking for? Aren't you hungry? You're stomach's usually growling by now." I said noting her jump in surprise as I spoke.

"Where'd you come from?" she asked, the surprise still registering on her face.

"Well, it's a long story… I used to live in Nova-" I started to say, shifting into story-telling mode.

"That's not what I mean, Brooke!" she interrupted.

"I was walking right in front of you and you were looking right at me, Erin," I said slowly, explaining things to her so that she might understand everything I was saying. "Don't tell me you need to get your eyes examined…"

"No you weren't!" she cried, defending her sight and sanity.

I readopted my careless expression. "Ok then, I wasn't walking right in front of your face, I just disappeared into thin air and floated here to scare you out of your skin. Yes, that's it exactly…" She opened her mouth to reply again but I held up my hand to stop her in the act. "No. It's lunchtime, I'm hungry, this is too much talking to do without food. Let's eat."

She shrugged; fed up with me again and together we headed towards the cafeteria.

"Oh, the selection…" Erin looked at me sceptically. "What? This is good stuff!"

"Sure. The extra layer of grease makes it delicious." She said.

I shouldn't even have to tell you that she was being sarcastic.

I picked out a chicken sandwich and a bag of roast chicken chips and a bottle of water. I growled underneath my breath at the obscene prices that our school has on some of these items.

"I can't believe you can eat so much and still be as small as you are," Erin sighed.

I shrugged, "What can I say? It's a gift. Besides," I added, dodging out of the way of a pack of rapper wannabes, "it's not as if you're huge or anything, so I don't see why you're complaining."

We paid for our food and went back outside to the shaded picnic tables to chow down.

"So, any more news on your mutant people?" I asked. It was quiet. I had to say something…

Damn you awkward silences!

"Well… Chloe from History class says they might be in New Orleans today, but other than that I haven't heard anything other than that," she finished lamely and took a bite of pizza. There goes my idea for a riveting conversation.

That's when I felt it.

In mid bite of my sandwich, to be exact. I dislike being interrupted from meals…

What was 'it' exactly? It's hard to explain really…

Looking around the grounds, I didn't see anything out of place. I shrugged inwardly, back to eating…

Just when I was opening my chips I felt that disturbing feeling again. Like something wasn't right. I snapped my head around and looked to the roof of the school. Still nothing. But it felt like someone was watching me.

Great. Now I'm getting even more paranoid.

"Is something wrong Brooke?" Erin asked when she had paused from taking a sip of her coke.

"I don't think so," I said slowly, still looking to the roof for answers. None were forthcoming. I shifted uncomfortably. There had to be something to explain this feeling. Anything… other than the excuse that I was going crazy.

"Well, I'm done," she said and put her garbage together. "It's your turn to take the trash over, remember…"

"Yeah, yeah." I polished off my chips and water and collected the garbage from our lunch, piling it unceremoniously on my tray and putting Erin's beneath mine.

"Don't fall!" she called out after I had stood up.

"It was just one time!" I said defending myself. "That hadn't even been my fault!"

She's such a great friend to make fun of my klutziness in front of everyone in the schoolyard.

Walking passed the tables and towards the garbage bins, I tried valiantly not to look anywhere's other than directly in front of me. I've discovered that while carrying a tray of garbage it is best to remain from getting distracted. Anyway, I knew that everyone was waiting expectantly for me to make a fool of myself- thanks to Erin's outburst.

Arg. Stupid people.

That was when I felt it again. That odd feeling that someone else's eyes were boring into my back. I snapped around to see what it was. This time, it was coming from the elementary playground, to my right. I twisted so fast that my feet kind of jumbled together and caught on the other one. My trays went flying and everything on them was launched into the air. I felt gravity's pull.

Aw crap.

My landing place was right next to the garbage cans I had been trying so hard to reach without incident. In fact, I landed, rear-end first, in a pile of yesterday's macaroni surprise.

Laughter started ringing out from everyone around me. I felt myself start to tear up in embarrassment. So much for not drawing attention to myself. I would give everything I had to be anywhere's else right now. Anything.

Well, maybe not everything – but a very large sum.

"Hey!" a guy's voice cried out, I didn't move, still too numb from the mortification of having macaroni on my bottom to go anywhere. "Where'd she go?"

Huh? I wasn't expecting that.

How can he… they… whoever… not see me sprawled out on the ground right under their bloody noses?

Ew… must rephrase…

Not that I was complaining about their temporary blindness or anything. I picked myself up from the splattered concrete and saw them all looking around in confusion.

Then they froze.

They froze. As in no one was moving at all. Like mall mannequins… creepy things.

I stood up and look down at myself. I was still stuck on the fact that these dozens of people looking directly at me couldn't see me in all my garbage-covered glory. I looked solid enough. The fact that the same dozens of people had just turned into flesh-covered mannequins was still slightly beyond my comprehension at the moment.

There! The feeling was back again. It was even stronger this time. I was trying to zero in on it again when I heard a strange whoosh of air. Like something, or someone, had jumped off the roof!

Great. First suddenly blind classmates and now suicidal invisible strangers!

I turned back to the school and saw, to my confusion; a woman with bright red hair was standing in front of me. I gasped in surprise. It wasn't just the fact that she had suddenly appeared there that was weird, it was that she was the only one moving in the sea of frozen students.

The woman smiled and spoke, "Hello, Brooke."

Oh yeah, and she knew my name too.

Yep. Just another day in the life of Brooke Stevens.

Hey! Kerei here, let me know if you liked it eh? Me and my beta reader had fun with this! You can be sure.. Next post will be soon!