Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men.

Chap. 4

Saturday went well for Firefly. She spent most of the day in the barn. At lunch, Kitty invited her to sit with her and a few friends. Firefly refused and went to sit by herself.

"So, what's up with her?" asked a boy, bewildered at her refusal.

"I don't really know. She doesn't talk all that much. I have to fight to get two sentences out of her." Replied Kitty.

"Probably a poor home life." Said a girl knowingly.

"No way, I met her parents, they're great."

Firefly listened to them talk. All the way on the other side of the lunch room and she could still hear them. At least they hadn't called her a jerk yet.

"Maybe she just has a bad attitude. Maybe she's just a jerk."

Thought to soon.

Sleep came easily and quickly that night and soon Firefly was turning off her alarm at five a.m. She took a shower (forgot her socks again) and moved to go back downstairs.

She didn't realize it, but she was taking the route she had taken the morning before.

Right passed Logan's room.

Firefly heard the familiar grunt and quickly hurried downstairs into the kitchen. She pulled out a glass and poured herself some cider. The carton was nearly empty. It seemed apple cider was the preferred drink at the mansion.

Firefly recognized the sturdy padding of Logan's feet on the kitchen's tile floor.

"Morning, Smarts." Grunted Logan.

Firefly was taken aback at first. Smarts? She recovered quickly.

"Why are you so shy and quiet all the time?"

"Why are you so inquisitive?" was her reply.

"And what's up with all the hair? Your mutation monster zits or something?"

Firefly had had this question asked to her before, by a family member. She had a few responses, but only some of them were fit for teachers.

"Why does everyone think that?" she joked sarcastically. Possibly the lamest one, but at least she wouldn't be in trouble.

"What are you hiding?" Logan asked, surprising her with such a serious question.

Firefly answered truthfully, while still keeping her title as the Queen of Vague.

"A bit of my past that I'd rather not show."

Logan seemed satisfied with the answer. "Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Not a breakfast person."

"I'm gonna have an egg."

Firefly watched as Logan successfully burnt his breakfast. Twice.

On the third try Firefly stopped him.

"People are going to want eggs for breakfast, Mr. Logan. So for the people, I will sacrifice my time and safety to make you eggs. Scrambled?"

"Yeah. And don't call me 'Mr.' It's just Logan to anyone who cares."

Firefly nodded and quickly scrubbed the frying pan clean. It dried instantly in her hands.

She set it down on the stovetop and scrambled raw eggs to put in the pan.

"Do you want cheese?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Well, then get it out. I'm kinda preoccupied." She said smartly.

Logan snagged the grated cheese from out of the fridge and Firefly began to sprinkle some on top of the eggs.

A minute later they were done, and Logan was chewing on light, fluffy, not burnt eggs.

"Thanks." He said after swallowing the last bit of his breakfast.

Firefly almost smiled at him. Almost.

"So, why are you so shy?"

Suddenly, Firefly was angry. She was not shy. Not shy at all. And she was going to show him.

"I'm tired of this." She growled, grinding her teeth.

"Just because I barely ever talk to anyone and stay out of everyone's way doesn't mean I'm this shy little girl. Maybe I just don't like it when people talk to me. Maybe I just don't like it when people look me full in the face. And maybe… maybe I just don't like people." She was yelling by the time she finished her little rant.

And then she smelled it. Smoke.

Firefly looked down at her hands. They were smoking. She could feel the air around her getting hotter. Firefly immediately began to panic. She looked around and saw the sink.

Running over to it, she flipped the lever that controlled the water up with her forearm, and shoved her hands underneath the stream of cold water.

Steam began to flow upwards; cold water connecting with the heat of her hands.

Logan had run over and had a dishtowel covering her hands now. It was sopping wet to keep her hands cool and calm her down.

Tears swam down her face, the left side still shrouded in hair.

"I-I'm s-sorry." She moaned, and quickly ran from the room.

Logan was left in the kitchen, head in his hands.

Sunday was uneventful. Aside from that morning, nothing totally out of control happened to Firefly or Logan.

Logan tried to find Firefly all day, but it seemed she had been expecting this and was avoiding him at all costs.

At one point, Logan even went to Kitty to find out where Firefly might be.

"Why?" she had asked.

"None o' your business." Logan had growled.

"Well, Firefly doesn't normally talk much. Most people just observe where she goes."

"That's great. Where?"

"This room, the showers, the kitchen. Oh, and the library is a big Firefly spot. But, since she got here on Friday, she has spent most of her time in the barn."

"Thanks."

Logan quickly hurried off to the barn. She wasn't there. The library. Nowhere in sight. Logan sighed in frustration.

He wanted to tell Firefly it was all right. It didn't matter if she couldn't control her mutation. After all, half the kids at the school couldn't control their powers.

Logan decided he would catch her the next morning in the kitchen.

Firefly awoke. The first day of class. She completed her usually morning routine, the only change was picking up books to take down to the kitchen. She had also remembered socks.

Firefly was about to take her usual route to the kitchen when she remembered. Logan.

She took a detour that was much longer but took her nowhere near his room. He would not wake up this morning.

Firefly made it to the kitchen and began making tea for herself. Some nice herbal tea would calm her strangely jumpy nerves.

She heard the water bubbling away in the pot before the whistle blew, and carefully removed it from the stove.

Firefly sipped her tea quietly, and felt herself relax. Then she heard him.

The slight creak of heavy brown boots on carpeted floors. The smell of cigars and beer. Logan.

She slipped behind the island in the kitchen, forgetting about her tea. Firefly knew he would be able to smell her, hear her. That didn't mean she wouldn't make an effort to hide.

He sighed and she heard him take the seat on the other side of the island, facing her direction.

"It's okay, you know." He said softly. "A lot of kids here can't control their power. That's why they're here."

"Are you tryin' to make me feel better about myself or somethin'?"

"Depends. Is it working?"

"Not really."

Firefly already felt like an idiot hiding behind the island like a child. She reached up and took her tea of the island counter top. Feeling like an idiot didn't mean she was going to stop.

"Does it hurt?"

This surprised her. Firefly hadn't thought that Logan had noticed the pain in her eyes the other day.

It was true. If fire of her own creation came in contact with her body, she would burn just like everything else.

"Yes." She answered in a small voice.

"Do you want to come out from there so I can talk to you properly?"

"Wasn't the whole point of my freak out yesterday that I didn't like to talk to people?"

"Don't you talk to animals, though?"

Another question she was surprised at. Everyone was into everyone's business at Xavier's school.

"It's not my mutation."

"I figured it wasn't. What is your mutation exactly?"

Firefly sighed. She was stubborn, but she had finally met her match. She wasn't going to come out from behind the counter, though.

"I can make things burn. I suppose, with practice, I may be able to control it, too. I've also noticed heightened senses."

"Isn't it nice to share with animals? They always listen." Logan remarked getting up and stretching.

"They never tell your secrets, either." Firefly implied.

"Who would they tell, anyway? It's not like your mutation is much of a secret, anyhow." Logan retorted.

Firefly closed her eyes and leaned back against the island, sipping at her tea. She realized that Logan was in front of her now, looking down. She, in turn, looked up.

"So, what do you say, Smarts? You ready to spread your wings and greet the new day?" He pointed at the hair that still camouflaged the left side of her face.

Firefly gave him a half-grin and said, "Didn't know you were such a poet, Logan. And I think I'll walk today."

A/N: Here's another for you! Have fun and don't forget to review! It's the only way I'llget better!