Chapter 3: Freaking Out

          At 2am Ham sat up in his bed.  He couldn't sleep.  'What if Xavier is here looking for me?  What if I'm a mutant?  If I go with Xavier I may never see Jake again.  And she only stayed around because of me.'  He sat there pondering all that for a while.  He looked down and his right hand was gone.  He pulled it away from the bed and his hand reappeared.  He studied his hand for a minute and then grabbed a red t-shirt off the floor.  He put it on his lap and lad his hand on top of it.  It only took two minutes for his hand to disappear.  When he wiggled his fingers the shirt seemed to ripple, like water.  Ham then got out of bed silently and stood against the wall directly across from a mirror.  After five minutes his whole body faded including his boxers.  He pulled his foot away, the wall looked as though it was stretching outward.  As he stepped forward, his body slowly reappeared.  Jake moaned quietly.  Hoping she wouldn't wake up and see him, Ham slipped back into bed and tried to sleep.

          The next morning, Jean, Kitty, and Rogue walked down the hall to the bathroom Ham told them they could use.  The night before he had put up an Out of Order sign on the door.  So none of the boys would use it while they were in there, and to take it down when they were done.  Kitty took a shower as Jean and Rogue brushed their teeth.

"Why didn't you take a shower last night?"  Jean asked.

"Cause by the time I was ready and you two were done, the baseball game was over and I couldn't get anywhere near here."  Kitty said as she turned the water off.  Except water was running in another shower.

"Hey, guys, I think someone else is in here."  Kitty said, as she quickly changed.  

Rogue spit, "what?"

 Kitty came out of the shower stall wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  Jean's eyes widened.  "Maybe its just Kurt playing a joke."

"I hope so."  Rogue said, as she pocketed her travel toothbrush and put her gloves on.

The water turned off and a minute later a blonde emerged wearing only a towel.  So this is why the bathroom doesn't work."  He spoke in a think British accent.

"So you can read."  Jean spat.

He smiled.  "Yes, so do the bathrooms not work at the girl's school?"

"We're not from the girl's school."  Kitty replied.

"Dean Fleming is letting us stay here for the night, we're from out of town."  Jean said, as she walked out.

"What her problem?  So how far away?"

"Away from what?"  Kitty asked.

"He wants to know where we're from."  Rogue told her.

"Oh," Kitty said.

"New York," Rogue told him.

"City?"  He asked with interest.

"No, Manchester, NY." 

"Oh."

"So where are you from?"
"England."

Kitty realized they were flirting and left. 

"Where London?"  She asked, smiling.

"Newcastle, actually."  He smiled back.

"Isn't that where the Beatles are from?"

"No, they're from Liverpool."

"Oh, you're towel is slipping down."  

He looked down, by the time he had it fixed and looking up again she was gone.  He ran out into the hall to catch her, but she was gone.  He looked around and then headed back to his room.  When he saw out of sight, Kitty and Rogue emerged from inside the wall.

"Thanks, Kitty."

"Sure, no problem.  So?"

"What?"

"You like him?"

"Thanks for stating the obvious, but it'll never go anywhere."  Rogue said, as she raised her hands.

"Oh, right, sorry."

"No, it's okay."  They started walking back to them room.

"Oh, I know who the Professor's new mutant is."  Kitty said, excitedly as they entered the room.

"Who?"  Rogue asked, as she closed the door behind them.

Poked her head into the other room.  "Good, they aren't there.  Hamilton."

"Hamilton?  How do you know?"

"Yesterday at the diner, he started to change."

"How?  I didn't notice."

"You weren't sitting right next to him.  His lap disappeared."

"He can become invisible?"

"Maybe, I not really sure, the lighting is kind of bad underneath the table."  Rogue laughed.  "But he was pretty freaked."

"I'll bet.  We should go tell Xavier."

'You already did, girls.'  They heard Xavier's voice in their heads.

"Hello?  Ever hear of privacy?"  Rogue called out.

"So much for a big surprise."  Kitty grumbled. 

A half hour later, they were at the Fleming's for breakfast.  Meanwhile Ham and Jake were walking to Finn's class.

"Are you okay?"  Jake asked.

"Yeah, I'm great, why?"

"You seem really tense."

"Tense, no, just a little stress."

"About?"

"My math test today."

"Liar, you're good in math.  What's really wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you lying about it?"  She asked as they walked up to where the class was gathered.

"Oh, look, we're here."

Jake groaned as she sat next to Will. 

Finn walked up, stopped next to Ham, and knelt down.  "Your father explained your absence, see me after class for the assignment."  He stood up and made his way to the front.

"How many have started the assignment?" 

Jake and ten others raised their hands.

"Truthfully."

Four put their hands down.

"Jake?"

"Finn?"

"What are you writing about?"

"My experiences during the summer and how it changed me."

"Okay, good.  Prose or free verse?"

"I'm not sure yet, I'm stilling playing around with both."

"Good."

Ham glanced down at his lap, slowly his feet faded away.  He switched positions.

"Hamilton, are you okay?"  Finn asked.

"Yeah, there was a bug."

"Well, when you're done would you like to read page 50 for me?"

Ham flipped open his book, slowly his hands faded in to the book.  He dropped it.

"Hamilton!"

"Sorry."  Ham tried again, except he couldn't stop it.  Now his feet and legs blended in with the grass.  Ham jumped up.  "I'm sorry, Finn, I'm sorry."  Ham grabbed his bag and ran.

"Hamilton!"  Finn yelled after him.

But Ham didn't stop he kept running.  Kitty happened to walk by and looked up to see Hamilton coming at her a little too late.  He looked up, just as he ran through her.  He stopped.  "How?  You're?  How?"  He gasped as he turned to face her.

"Hamilton, calm down."

"No."  He looked down and saw his feet disappear.  He turned around and ran.  He didn't stop until he reached his room.  There he closed the door and locked it.  A minute later, Kitty walked through the door.

"Ahh!"  Hamilton yelled.  "What?  How?"

"Hamilton, it's okay, it's me Kitty."

"How did you?"

"Remember the conversation last night?"

"You're…"

"A mutant, it's okay, you can say the word: mutant."

"I, no, I-I can't be."

"Apparently, you are, it's in your genes."

"But…"

"Yeah, my parents are normal too."

"The professor?"

"Yup, him too.  Hamilton, it's okay.  That's why we're here, to help you."  He plopped down onto his bed.  Kitty sat down next to him.  "It's okay, I was freaked out, too.  But Xavier helped me, and now I can control my powers.  He can help you, too."

"Will I have to go to his school?"

"That's your choice."

Suddenly a scream ripped through the quiet hall.

"Who?"  Kitty asked, as she jumped up.

"Sound like (pause) Ryder?"

"Come on."  Kitty grabbed Ham's hand and pulled him through the door.