Saturday, Remy follows up on his promise and takes Nori out. She pulls her hair back and puts on some black plastic glasses, a half-hearted disguise. It's been awhile since she was in the news. They go to a music store in town—she wants new rosin for her violin, and he suspects it won't be too crowded, so it won't be too overwhelming for her telepathy. He's right; there are a couple high school kids hanging out looking at sheet music, and a pleasant-faced middle-aged woman behind the counter. He follows Nori to the stringed instruments section and watches as she examines several small round boxes. The woman comes up and says, "Can I help you with anything, miss?"

"Yeah, thanks," Nori says. "I got a new violin and I'm looking for a new rosin. I think maybe a lighter one. I usually use Jade."

The woman is staring at her face and Nori shifts a little, uncomfortably. Remy grips her shoulder.

"Well, it depends on your price range. Andrea rosin is our highest end, but some people prefer Pirastro—it comes in more varieties."

Nori nods and studies them. The woman hesitates and says, "Excuse me, but, I just have to ask. Are you-are you Nori Oh?"

Nori looks up at the woman and nods, claiming her old stage name. "Yes, I am." Her shoulders stiffen under Remy's hand as she waits for the clerk's response.

"Oh, my goodness, I knew it," the woman says, excitedly. "My word, I am just about one of your biggest fans."

"Well, thank you," Nori says, with a shy smile.

"Can I ask, I know you've been busy with, you know, whatever you're doing these days, but are you going to put out a new album any time soon?"

"You know, I hadn't really thought about it."

"Well, if you do, I would certainly buy a copy."

"Thank you, that's so nice of you to say. What's your name?"

"Pam."

"It's nice to meet you, Pam." Nori picks out two packages and walks up to the counter. Pam follows and steps behind the register to ring Nori up. After Nori pays, Pam hesitates a second and says, "Could I ask—would you mind signing something for me?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to."

"I'll be right back," Pam says, holding her hands out in a "stay" gesture. Remy squeezes Nori's hand. They watch as Pam comes back with a stepladder and pulls down a framed poster of Nori that neither of them had noticed upon entering the store. It had been relatively high on the wall above the sheet music section. Remy grins at it—it shows a younger Nori with a hot pink streak in her hair and black lace sleeves over her tattooed arms, playing a violin and looking joyful.

Nori smiles and nods at the poster that had been hanging next to hers. "Are you a fan of Andrew Bird, too?"

"Oh yes, of course."

"God, he is phenomenal, right?"

"I saw the two of you perform together a few years ago, at Bonnaroo. It was probably the best show I've ever seen."

"Bonnaroo! Oh my god, that was such a trip." Nori hesitates. "I think the only place I could write on this poster and have it show up would be over my face."

"Oh, heavens, here, I have a silver Sharpie somewhere." Pam digs in a desk drawer and produces it.

Nori writes, "Pam, thanks for everything. XOXO Nori." Then she scrawls a peace sign and a flower.

Pam beams, and Nori waves goodbye. "It was nice to meet you," she says sweetly. Remy nods at the woman, and they walk back outside.

"You're a celebrity, cher," Remy says.

She laughs. "Only to music geeks. And people who think I'm Bjork."

"Who?"

"Uh, another singer. I don't really look that much like her. But it happens. Or it did." They reach their car, which is parked on the street, and Nori says, "Let's just keep walking and see what else is around. It's such a nice day out." And it is, a lovely warm day in late September.

As they walk down the sidewalk, Remy leans down and whispers, "So, cher, should I be jealous of this Andrew Bird? I knew you liked his music but I didn't know you knew him."

She grins at him. "Oh, yes, you should be terribly jealous, darling. We spent months together on the road. And I've recorded music in his barn."

"Is that... code for something?"

"No. He has a recording studio in his barn. It's killer," she says wistfully.

"I bet we could rig something up in Xavier's barn."

"There are horses in Xavier's barn."

"Horses like music too, non?"

He takes her hand and they explore downtown Salem Center. Remy drags her into a small jewelry store and the clerk, a thin, middle-aged man with a bad combover, lights up upon seeing a happy couple enter.

"How can I help you?" the clerk asks. He glances at Nori's hands. "Engagement rings, perhaps?"

"No, no, just looking," Remy says.

"I see," the clerk says. "Well, please let me know if I can help you with anything."

Nori crosses her arms and telepathically tells Remy, What are we doing in here?

Just wanted to see if anything caught your eye.

You know I don't like fancy jewelry. Especially not blood diamonds.

Just looking, cher.

He taps his finger over a pair of long diamond earrings. "Can we see these?"

"Of course, sir."

The man pulls them out and hands them to Nori, who smirks and says, "I think these would look better on you, dear," handing them to Remy.

"Nonsense," he says, holding them up against her face. "Lovely."

Remy, let's get out of here. This is gross.

Remy sighs and hands the earrings back to the clerk. "Perhaps another time, non?"

"Of course, sir. Have a lovely evening."

Nori gives the man a tight smile as she turns heel and stalks out of the store.

"Sorry, cher. You know me... distracted by pretty, shiny things. Didn't think you'd mind."

She rolls her eyes. "I didn't like that guy. He wasn't thinking very nice things about us." Remy freezes, and Nori grabs his wrist. "No, Remy, keep going. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal. Don't want some cheap storekeep thinking about my girl."

"Remy, you can't pick fights with people over their thoughts. Especially not here. It's more trouble than it's worth. But for heaven's sake, promise me you'll never buy anything there."

"Course not. Nothing in there was good enough for you, anyway." He frowns.

She laughs and pulls his head down for a quick kiss, her bad mood disappearing as quickly as it had come. They stop for gelato at a cute little stand. Remy smiles, thinking of the night they'd stopped for ice cream after Nori had temporarily depowered Magneto.

She smiles up at him and licks her lips slowly.

"No fair reading my thoughts, cherie," he pleads.

"I don't need to read your thoughts. I can read your eyes," she says, meeting his gaze with an alluring grin.

He leans in and kisses her, tasting hazelnut and pistachio. They keep walking and find a used record store. Nori lights up here, in the way that most girls Remy knew would have at the jewelry store. She pores through every item, radiating contentment. He stands behind her and smiles when she holds something up for him to see, though in truth it's mainly pretty meaningless to him. They find one of her albums. The cover is cracked and it's priced at $5.

"You want it?" he asks.

"Why on earth would I want it?" she asks. "I'll leave it for someone else to find."

She does acquire a small stack of CDs, all of which are unknown to Remy—Kim Wilde, The Ramones, the New Pornographers, and Lucinda Williams. The sullen teenage boy at the register takes her cash and says nothing. "Have a good night," Nori says.

"Whatever," the boy replies.

Nori smiles brightly as they walk back to the car. "The Ramones!" she exclaims. "They were some of the first real non-classical music I ever really listened to. My high school friend Jill's brother had their album, Mania. The first time I heard it, I swear to God, I thought we were going to get arrested for listening to it. I haven't listened to them in forever."

"Don't think I know them."

"C'mon, I bet you do. Twenty-twenty-twenty-four hours to go, I wanna be sedated? No? Ugh, it's a classic."

"Just glad you're happy, cher. You ready for dinner?"

"Yeah, I guess."

He takes her to Salem Center's only Mexican restaurant and she gets a little tipsy on a giant margarita. Her cheeks flush and her eyes get brighter, and she looks beautiful to Remy.

"Let's go dancing," she says.

"Fine with me." Remy doesn't know the town well, and he ends up taking Nori back to Harry's, which had a jukebox and a small dance floor.

"I love this place," Nori says upon entering. Remy goes to get them drinks, and she goes over to the jukebox. Suddenly, she reappears by his side, looking vaguely embarrassed.

"Uh, Remy, I think maybe... maybe we should go."

He looks down at her. "We just got here, cher, what's wrong?"

She's blushing. "Well, I was looking at the jukebox, and some guy came over and he... said some stuff... and I asked him to leave me alone, and he tried to put his hand on my shoulder, and... I didn't let him."

"Did you hurt him?"

"No, no. But I just... I put up a shield. Like here." She gestures a few inches above her shoulder. "He tried to put his hand past it and then he stared at me real big and then he went back over to his friends."

Remy glances around the bar. "Well, we can go if you want. But I think it served him right. What'd he say to you anyway?"

She looks down. "It doesn't matter."

"I mean, did he threaten you?"

Gritting her teeth, she says, "He asked me if I would love him long time."

"Son of a bitch," Remy says, reaching into his pocket.

"Hey, hey, come on. I already freaked him out."

"Not as bad as he deserves."

She sighs and takes one of the beers from the counter in front of Remy. "Let's just... drink these and go."

"Thought you wanted to dance?"

She shakes her head. She looks up, warily, as a man with bleached blond hair approaches the bar.

"That's the guy," she hisses at Remy. The man is talking to the bartender and he glances at Nori. His face is twisted in a sneer, and Remy and Nori both ready themselves to leave. Instead, the bartender glares at Nori's assailant and speaks to him harshly. The blonde man's face grows red and he slams a beer bottle down on the counter.

Remy whispers, "Can't you, you know, eavesdrop?"

She shakes her head. "I don't think I could filter everyone out. I'm nervous."

So they watch, and the blonde man storms away from the bartender, toward Nori. She holds herself tall.

"I know what you are, mutie bitch," he hisses as he walks out the door.

"I am not a bitch," she says, her chin up. Remy laughs.

The bartender approaches them and says, "Sorry about that. We don't tolerate harassment here. Those are on the house," he adds, nodding at their drinks.

"Thanks!" Nori says.

"And miss, if you are a mutant—I don't care. My sister's a mutant. But you'd be better off steering clear of guys like that."

"I know," she sighs. "It—I am a mutant. I didn't mean to. But he just—"

"You don't have to tell me. I know that guy. And, well, we don't get a lot of women around here. I'm sure whatever you did, he deserved it."

"I didn't do anything. I kept him from doing something to me," she says, earnest in the way that the moderately drunk are. "What's your name?"

"I'm Harry," the man says, with a small smile.

"Ohh, this is your bar. It's nice! It's nice to meet you. I'm Nori." She extends a hand, and he takes it.

"Nice to meet you too, sweetie," Harry says.

"This is my boyfriend, Remy," she says. Remy extends his hand and smiles.

"Hey, Remy," Harry says, with a nod. Remy stands back as Nori charms Harry, inquiring about where he's from, how he came to open a bar here, what his favorite drink is... Finally, Harry has to pry himself away to serve some other customers, and Remy bends down to kiss Nori's forehead.

"Making friends wherever we go, I see," he says.

"I'm just a people person, Remy."

"I know."

A cheesy pop song comes on the jukebox, and Nori lights up. "Let's dance!"

"All right, cher," he says, allowing himself to be dragged to the small dance floor with a smile. A few other couples are there but none of them match their enthusiasm. Nori beams up at him and mouths the words to the song. He just likes holding her against him. They pass a fairly pleasant evening at Harry's, and they have a pretty good time when they get back to the mansion, too.