Turns out I got my appointment dates mixed up, which means I get to update today instead of sometime within the murky future! Yay!
Sean was distinctly uncomfortable about being in the back seat with Riley. He was uncomfortable in general about being in the car with Charles and Erik, but that was a fate he had resigned himself to. One that was easier to deal with from the back seat, where it was harder to see the way that Erik practically shook with impatience; where it was easier to pretend that the leather chair somehow blocked his thoughts from Charles.
But he wasn't able to pretend that there were barriers between him and the new girl, which normally wouldn't have bothered him- his mother always said he was a people person- but her anxiety seemed to amplify his anxiety and it was just all around bad news.
Shifting his legs slightly, he glanced over at her and tried to keep his questions to himself. It wasn't easy, what with Charles conducting his one-sided conversation earlier and her fierce determination that she wasn't able to do anything, not like Erik could; not like he could. It made him curious, made him want to ask questions, and he wasn't used to being quiet for so long; it had been hard enough to keep his thoughts to himself when she'd been talking to them outside the diner.
And then she'd only agreed to join because she thought it would somehow help her; he couldn't decide if he thought that was selfish or not. They were out to stop a threat to the world, and she was concerned about herself. Of course, she also didn't think she'd be of any real help to the team, so maybe she hadn't wanted to join because she figured she'd just get in the way.
That's why he hadn't wanted to join at first.
It had taken Charles fifteen minutes to talk him around to agreeing to come, and even then it had taken a harsh comment from Erik to get him to actually get into the car.
"Hey," Riley said quietly, and his attention was immediately drawn from his ever so interesting shoelaces and towards her general direction. "So he can read minds, and he can open things or whatever; what is it that you can do?"
Her hands fluttered just above her lap as she talked, weaving amongst themselves as if helping her put together her sentences, and there was something almost hypnotic about it. Of course, he also hadn't had a lot of sleep the night before, so a lot of things were holding his attention today that wouldn't otherwise have done so.
"Er, well, I can break things. With my voice," he winced slightly as he said it, and knew that he'd have to come up with a better way to put it when he told his mother. Which would be in about five minutes.
"Do any of you have non-destructive abilities?" She asked with amusement in her voice, and he frowned over at her.
"He can read minds, I don't think that counts as destructive, just invasive," he said, to which Riley smiled and shook her head at him.
"No, see, that's destructive. He's tearing through someone's most private place, he can see what they think, what's to stop him from manipulating that? That's the most destructive thing I've ever heard of," Sean glanced to the front and caught Charles' slight frown directed towards her. "And Erik, well, I don't know what he can really do, but I suppose his is all in how he chooses to use it."
Sean smirked over at Erik, mouthing 'door opener' at him and smiling wider when it became apparent that he was too far away for Erik to take a swipe at.
"Your minor philosophical take on mutant abilities will have to take a pause Riley; we're here, Sean," Charles announced as he turned into a gravel driveway.
Sean glanced up at the light blue house, taking in the white trim and the poppies that his little sister had planted at the front of the house. Oh hell, I can't do this.
With slow movements and weighed down feet, he moved towards the front door, tracing his hand over the intricate design etched into the window. He rang the doorbell, and waited for someone to answer, hoping that just this one time no one would be home, that he would have to fetch the spare key from the painted rock nestling in the poppy garden; that he'd be able to pack in silence and wouldn't have to explain anything or say goodbye.
"Sean?" His mother asked, dusting flower-coated hands onto her checkered apron.
"Hello Mrs. Cassidy, my name is Charles Xavier, and this is Erik Lehnsherr, may we come in?" Sean hadn't even realized that they had followed him to his house.
Walking into his childhood home, he inhaled the scent of freshly baked cookies, and stood next to the still-open door while his mother and the two other mutants walked up the stairs, towards the living room. It wasn't until Riley came in behind them and stood next to him that he shook himself out of his stupor and shut the front door.
Well, time to break my mother's heart.
Sorry it's so short guys, I wanted to get this part out before heading out to work, I'll update with the rest at my usual time tonight (really really late).