After four months of intensive testing and psychological work-up's, the
young lad was let go from the hospital and into Xavier's School. Gavin's
few belongings were moved in and he arrived a day later. He had been given
new clothing and school supplies; he was in a state of shock. These people
had bought him all these things, and asked for nothing in return. Gavin's
room was monstrous to him, after living in a 8 foot by 8 foot space for 17
years, a room that was more than twice that was huge to the lad. He looked
at the teacher accompanying him, a lady in her late twenties/early thirties
with white hair.
"Mrs. Monrou, is this. my room?" Gavin asked in a soft voice.
"Yes, now come along, you'll be late for lunch"
"Oh. I. not very hungry" The grumble of his stomach betrayed him.
Ororo raised a eyebrow and smiled a little.
"Well, you should get something into you, now come along and I'll take
you to the dining hall"
"Yes ma'am" he said, his hands sliding into the new blue jeans he was
wearing. He walked down the hall with his head slightly hung, not looking
at anyone that he passed on the way. He followed the teacher in front of
him to the dining hall, and she smiled.
"Come on, I think you'll like the selection" she said as she motioned
him towards the order window. He looked up at the menu, and his mouth
watered. There was almost everything there, from apple pie to zucchini
casserole.
"Uhm. just a diet coke and a ham sandwich please" he said in a quite
tone. The food was quickly at the window, and he grabbed his wallet.
"How much?" he asked as he looked up to the register. Mrs. Monrou
smile at him.
"The food's free Gavin" He nodded, smiled sheepishly, and tucked the
wallet, another thing that had been bought for him, back into his pocket.
Gavin shuffled over to a table and began to eat the sandwich as Mrs. Monrou
sat down opposite him, with a salad. Gavin didn't even raise his head as he
ate, not looking at anything but the small space of table in front of him.
Ororo looked at him and smiled slightly. This young man was absolutely
terrified about being here, and she was determined to see that he'd
acclimatize better. The boy was finished quickly, and he just sat there,
motionless as he waited.
"Would you like a tour of the grounds Gavin?" asked Ororo as she
finished.
"If it's not a problem, ma'am" he said, not even looking up. She
smiled and got up, and the boy followed her without fail. She was walking
down the hall when Gavin bumped into someone. He fell to the ground hard,
intentionally cushioning the other person's fall with his body. He looked
up into a set of pretty blue eyes, framed by brown hair. He knew this
person, a young woman by the name of Kittie. Although she was known to most
others at the school as Shadowcat.
"Oh! Sorry, didn't see you there!" she said as she stood up. Gavin
nearly sprung up as she moved off him, he didn't like being touched.
"No problem, should'a been watching where I was going" he said,
looking down at the floor.
"Hey, you're the new guy, right? Gavin?"
"Uh. yeah. uh. Kittie, right?" he asked, his voice soft.
"Yes, where you going?"
"Mrs. Monrou was going to give me a tour of the grounds"
"Oh?" Kittie said, looking at Ororo. "Oh! That's right! Professor
Monrou, Professor Xavier wants to see you in his office. He sent me to find
you"
"Oh. uhm. Well, could you take Gavin on that tour I was planning?"
"Sure!" she said, taking Gavin's arm and running off with him in tow.
Ororo blinked as she went to the Professor's office.
"Yes sir, you wanted to see me?" she asked as she walked into the
office.
"Yes Ororo, I wanted to get Gavin interacting with a few of his peers.
That's why I sent Kittie after you two. She'll be good for him to get to
know."
"If I didn't know you better professor, I'd say that you were fixing
those two up" The Professor only smiled.
Gavin was pulled along by Kittie, stumbling as he did. She was
whisking him through the halls of the Xavier School, and Gavin was barely
able to put a name to the places she pointed out. Gavin finally got to
catch his breath when Kittie let him go to open the massive front doors.
"So Gavin, you like what you've seen so far?" Kittie asked, smiling at
him.
"Yeah.. this place seems pretty nice.. I guess" he said softly, not
looking at Kittie, but rather looking down at the ground.
"Everything okay Gavin?" she asked, looking at him.
"Hm? Yeah. fine.. just a little nervous is all" He said, raising his
head quickly as he did. Kittie smiled at him.
"Hey, chill. You'll be okay, I know this place is a bit different, but
trust me, you'll get used to it" she grinned and pulled him along again.
Gavin looked at her, her dark brown hair flying back behind her, her pretty
smile, her incessant talking. Gavin wasn't one that had a capricious heart,
but he felt something blossom inside him. A kind of warm-ness that was hard
for him to describe. ^Is this what it's like to make a friend?^ he asked
himself as Kittie dragged him along.
"Now, this is the water fountain, over there is the woods, and behind
the school is a river that leads to a waterfall, I think, and there's not
much else around here. But it is a nice to just sit and relax" She said,
flashing that thousand watt smile again.
"You've got a pretty smile" Gavin said quietly. Kittie blinked once
and looked at him, a little surprised.
"Sorry.. I just." Gavin said, turning away from her a little.
"No, no! It's okay! You just surprised me a little" she said. Gavin
looked at her, running a hand through his hair, exposing his eyes for a
moment, but also exposing a nasty scar that ran from one side of his head
to the other. That was the main reason he let his hair grow so long, to
cover that scar.
"Hey, neat scar!" she said, Gavin looked down at the ground quickly.
"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.
"No.. just.. its nothing" he said softly.
"Erm. sorry Gavin" she said, her hands sliding into her pockets.
"No, its okay. its okay. I just.. not many have seen it" he said,
running a hand through his hair nervously.
"Can I ask how it happened?" she said, looking at him.
"I guess. I was eight. I think. I was out shopping with my mother, I
think. Anyway. long story short, I fell, my mom didn't catch me, and I
cracked my head off of a two-by-four. Split the skin pretty deep too. All I
remember is that there was a lot of blood and my mother bitching at me for
bleeding all over my new clothes" Gavin said, looking at Kittie. She looked
at him for a moment, and then nodded. She grabbed him again, but stopped
when she felt some resistance from Gavin.
"Uhm. could we take a walk though the woods?" he asked sheepishly. She
smiled a little and nodded. They turned and walked towards the woods.
Scott watched Kittie and the new guy walk towards the woods. He was up
in the third story of the school, and supposed to be studying. He ground
his teeth, watching that Timebomb getting friendly with one of his friends.
Scott had been there at the fight when Gavin had exploded, and what Scott
had seen made him understand why the Professor had wanted Gavin in the
school. Gavin was a super power, which is to say a Mutant with
extraordinarily powerful abilities. Scott had seen Gavin, that young lad,
standing there, energy crackling around him, the high school reduced to
rubble, and him just hovering there. There wasn't anything they could do,
Gavin's main power was manipulation of matter, and he had erected a field
around himself that was totally impervious. It was only until the Professor
had arrived and brought the young Timebomb too heel with his telepathic
powers that they had a chance. Gavin had killed over fifty people that day,
but the courts had ruled that he was not of a sane mind at the time, and he
remanded him to the care of Xavier's School. No one had any idea how
powerful Gavin was, and no one wanted to figure that out either. As Scott
watched the pair walk into the woods, Jean walked into his room.
"Hey you" she said, walking up behind him and hugging him.
"Hey" He said quietly.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing. Just keeping an eye on the Timebomb"
"Oh calm down, the Professor put a damn heavy-duty mental lock on him,
the kid's not going to explode again for a long time Scott, and when he
does, he'll be able to control it"
"But what if he can't?" He asked, turning around and looking at her.
"He'll be able too, trust me" she said, smiling at him. She leaned up
and gave him a quick kiss, then turned and moved a few books over to them.
"Now, about that history homework" She said with a grin. Scott looked
at her with a smile and nodded, sitting down beside her.
