A/N: Sorry about the misattributing of the sweeter side request, Adi. Summer's here for me, so I have even more time on my hands than usual. That means more or less updates, depends on what happens. But here's chapter five. Still excited?
Evelyn hit the secondhand stores first. It took a little looking, but she found what she needed. She smiled at the lady behind the counter and ducked behind the fitting room curtain. Her old pair of jeans had served her well, but there were only so many crotch holes one could patch up without looking a little odd.
She pulled the newer jeans on and surveyed herself in the mirror. Not bad, she thought. Not half bad. She walked out again until something caught her eye. The sleeve of a shirt was hanging out of a bin. Evelyn pulled it out. It was a vacation shirt advertising Colorado.
Perfect, she thought, and added it to her purchases. The shopkeeper looked rather oddly at her forearm as she was ringing up the sale. Evelyn followed her gaze to the tattoo on it. She met the lady's eyes again and gave her a 'what's your problem' look while she took her change. She wasn't exactly crazy about her first taste of East Coast attitude, but no matter. There was a good reason she had a tattoo there. She was proud of it. It wasn't very fancy, not like the design on her lower back. One single word in an ancient alphabet, meaning 'bearer of good news.' She got it to remind her that the only good news she should trust completely is the kind that she gave herself.
Her new shirt showed it off perfectly. She smiled at the lady again and walked back to her truck. Next stop was the supermarket, for postcards and jerky. She looked down at her arm and flexed her fingers, watching the painted skin move. The memory of why she got the tattoo wasn't nearly so pretty. She shuddered instinctively for a second, then stuffed the memory in the back of her mind again. No time for old crap to fill her head.
She started up the truck to find the nearest supermarket.
John Allerdyce sat on the lawn in front of school, idly flicking his lighter open and closed. He was bored out of his skull. Rogue and Bobby were off making eyes at each other and not doing anything about it. He could smell the frustrated teenage angst from here, and he didn't really want to intrude. But he didn't want to just sit here. He had that feeling that he should be doing something, anything, but just couldn't be bothered.
He sighed and flipped over onto his stomach and watched the cars go by. He wondered why everyone seemed to be going out of their way to be normal. John scowled at the thought and imagined the cars catching fire and exploding.
Someday, he thought, I will show everyone that being a mutant is something to be proud of. John started to smile, getting lost in pseudo-Machiavellian daydreams involving wealth, power, and riches that were only broken off by the rumbling of a diesel engine that had seen better days. What really made him sit up was the fact that the truck in question stopped in front of the school.
Not many cars that came through stopped in front of Xavier's school, and even less pickups. He clicked his lighter open and waited for the driver to get out. He clicked the lighter closed again when he saw the woman that exited. She went straight up in John's mind from 'suspicious stranger' to 'girl of my dreams.' The gate opened for her, so he supposed that she was welcome.
Besides, he would put aside his stranger-paranoia in favor of hormones in this situation. The first thing that caught his eye was the hair. Then the tattoo etched on her arm. Then her piercings. Then he started looking at her lip piercing, all sorts of hormonally-charged thoughts dancing in his head. Then he realized that she was walking up to him and he should probably talk or something.
"Yeah?" he said, managing to sound much less interested than he was. He also managed not to drool, much to his credit.
"Yeah yourself. You go to school here, right?" John nodded. "Peachy, can you help me out with something?"
"What d'you need?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt the sitting marathon, but can you do me the favor of carrying my bag here?" John got up and brushed himself off.
"Yeah, fine." Evelyn smiled and handed one of her bags to him.
"Thanks. What's your name?" She pulled out a cigarette went to light it, but John got there first.
"John. John Allerdyce." He flicked his lighter shut and flashed her a lopsided smile.
"Quite the gentleman, aren't we? My name's Evelyn Morrison. My room's on the first floor, c'mon." Her room? wondered John. How long is she staying here? He dutifully put the bag of groceries down in her room and sneaked a peek inside.
Beef jerky and Guinness? Where has she been all my life?
"Are you staying here long?" he asked.
"As long as I like, apparently. D'you know where there's some eats around here?" John exulted inwardly. He could help her out there.
"I'm hungry too. This way." He led her down the hall, flicking his lighter open and shut, open and shut, until they reached a room with seriously high-class appliances. Evelyn whistled softly and opened the refrigerator.
"What is all this?" asked Evelyn. She picked up a stick of celery and sneered. "Do they think you're mutants or rabbits?" Almost on cue, John's stomach rumbled.
"Dunno, Dr. Grey and Storm do all the food shopping," he said.
"Oh great, a doctor buys your food. You may look fine now, but you'll waste away soon enough if we don't get you some real food real fast. I've had a hankering for some chili for a week or so now. How does tomorrow sound for an outing to town?" John smiled and grabbed a non-fat yogurt from the fridge.
"It's a date." Storm's choice of food didn't appeal to John at all; he was a big eater with a quick metabolism. Extra bonus, he got to spend some quality time with Evelyn. Alone. In her truck. It looked like he would have something to do with his time after all.