'So what do I need?' Stood in the humongous mall, Crystal was overwhelmed. There was consent buzzing around her, making it hard to focus. How could anyone concentrate with all this noise?

Peter just smirked at her, clearly amused by her bewilderment. 'Everything. The professor told me to make sure you had everything you'd need to be happy, I guess that means clothes and shoes and stuff like that.'

After an hour of being fussed over by over-enthusiastic shop assistants, Crystal was exhausted. The only thing that had gotten her through this new form of torture was Peter playing tricks on the staff by moving items around, but he'd quickly got bored of that and disappeared.

'Where's the guy that was with you?' Crystal wasn't sure if this level of prying was usual for strangers. She was used to having every detail of her life laid out for all to read but wasn't sure if that was the norm for everyone else. 'He's cute. How do you know each other, are you together?'

Crystal didn't quite understand the question. They had walked in together, didn't that make it clear they had come together? Maybe there was something more to the question. She knew the answer to the first part of the question at least. 'He works for my dad.'

'Sleeping with the help. Romantic. Is he a mutant?' The shorter assistant blurted out without much thought. Again, Crystal wasn't entirely sure what her comment meant, or how this assistant knew Peter had stayed in her room last night.

'Brittany! You can't ask stuff like that, it's rude.' The slightly older assistant gave her colleague a swift elbow in the side.

'What! He has funny hair, and my dad reckons a load of them live in the big house outside of town. Remember all that stuff a couple of years ago. That old mansion got destroyed and rebuilt in a couple of days. Dad's a builder. He said no machines could have restored it that fast.'

'Yeah, but you don't just ask someone. Some like to keep it private. I heard some mutants could kill you with a wave of their hand. Could you imagine accidentally upsetting one and being done in for it? How could you be friends with someone like that?'

The ignorance of the girls and her confusion to their conversation was beginning to cause Crystal some distress, reminding her of her nightmares of being cold and alone. Her head continued to pound against her skull, and the ability to stand up straight was leaving her. As she grasped for something to hold onto, the ground began to shake under her feet. She could see the cracks forming in the concrete, it was all her vision could focus on. While the girls screamed about earthquakes, Crystal tried to calm herself. The blustering around her was too much, and it only spiralled her panic attack.

At the other end of the mall, Peter had been browsing through the new CDs in the music store. He'd been lost in thought when his eyes snapped up. All the water, even the fountain in the middle of the floor, was boiling. The air felt dense, and he was sure he'd felt the earth begin to tremble. Shit! Before the first tremor of Crystal's earthquake had reached across the floor, he was by her side. He gripped her shoulders, 'Crystal, open your eyes. Look at me. Crystal, you need to calm down.' Tears were forming around her eyes, gently running down her cheeks. Enough was enough. He picked her up, grabbed the mountain of bags around her and whisked her into the car park.

'Chrissy, open your eyes for me.' his fingers were unusually slow as he wiped her tears away. He pulled her hair from her face, leaning in to whisper tenderly into her ear. It took a lot to shock Peter, he saw most things coming, but Crystal flinging herself into his arms, clutching him desperately caught him off guard. He stood bewildered from a moment before stroking her soft hair, trying to offer her some level of comfort.

It took some time to calm Crystal down enough to drive her home, but she stayed silent the whole time. Her head leaning against the window, staring aimlessly at the blurs that pass them. Peter wasn't used to the feeling of helplessness that engulfed him. How could he make his beautiful creature feel better?

By the time they got home, it was dark, meaning most of the residence had gone to bed. Crystal was keen to go to her room as well, but in a bold move, Peter grabbed his companion's hand and pulled her onto the small sofa in the TV room. The fire was still lit, giving out a soft glow which welcomed them into the space.

Exhaustion hit Crystal as she sank into the sofa, her head lulling onto the armrest. Peter whipped round the kitchen, returning with a plethora of snacks to get them through the conversation they were about to have. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

'There was a mutant back at the facility. Her name was Mirage. She took great joy in hurting others. It was a part of her role as Stryker's minion. She can bring your greatest fears to life, they haunt you for every waking minute. Sometimes...they catch me off guard. When they do...I can't focus...it just happens.' Her heart was breaking in front of him.

'On the day my powers kicked in, I couldn't slow down for a day. Then, it took my mum three days to calm me down enough for her to understand me. So, don't worry about not having control. It doesn't come to everyone naturally. Do you know what caused your panic attack?'

'The girls at the store. They were asking me questions and the answers seemed simple, they must have meant something different because the girls kept prying'.

'What did they ask?' As Crystal relaid the conversation back to him, Peter couldn't help but smile. Crystal was so innocence she'd taken every word literally. After being scolded at, he began to explain some of what the girls had meant, though leaving out their more intimate suggestions.

'So, they were asking if you and I were in a relationship?' There was obviously confusion in her voice. 'I would never have realised that. I mean I know that people have relationships, I heard the guards mention their wives and, I've read a couple of books. But, I've never seen a real-life couple. I wouldn't know how to even recognise one.'

'Young couples are normally pretty obvious. Hand holding, kissing until they run out of air. The arm around the waist is a classic.' Peter continued to list off traits, wondering if Crystal understood these were things he could envision doing with her.

'You put your arm around my waist when I was crying. What does that mean?'

What did it mean? He'd acted on impulse because she was upset, it had felt natural to comfort her.

Crystal didn't wait for him to answer, she just muttered 'I'm never going to get the hang of this real-world stuff am I?' Peter still didn't know what to say. Instead of a reply, Peter softly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, his hand resisting the urge to drop to her waist. Despite the challenge, he stayed perfectly still until she drifted off. Once sure she was soundly asleep, Peter shifted his weight to carry her back to bed. He knew he should go, but the idea pained him. His mind racing from the conversation they had just had. Could Crystal understand his developing feelings for her? Could he even understand them? Relationships were not his field of expertise. He settled himself on top of Crystal's bed and watched her breathing softly until he joined her in slumber.