Relwarc: Why there is nothing wrong with being bi!!  Bi is good, bi is great!!  And your right, it does broaden your horizons*grins*

Matt Bridel: I fixed the spacing, sorry 'bout that.  It uploaded weird and I was too lazy to bother with fixing it, but it's all good now!

Musashi Den: Black?  Flipped up hair?... Why I am afraid that you are totally and absolutely right!!  Heh…

Chapter Two

An annoying noise was blaring off to Remy's side and, after identifying it as his alarm clock, he reached over to turn it off.  The moment his hand touched the clock it exploded in a shower of sparks.  He jerked his hand back with a curse as a shard of plastic cut him.  It had been happening more often lately.  He would try to touch something or already be holding it and it would explode.  Up until a few months ago he had been able to control his powers perfectly but they were beginning to grow more powerful.  It was the reason his dad had insisted on leaving New Orleans.  Too many people knew that he had a mutant for a son and he was ashamed because of it.  Remy had been expelled from the high school there on the grounds that he was a dangerous mutant after he had charged his pen in class.  There had been a time when he would have been able to absorb the charge back into himself but they were too strong now and he couldn't hold it back.  It took all his concentration to stop the charges long enough for him to get somewhere safe.

He threw back the cover and forced himself up from the comfort of his bed.  He quickly got ready for the day, taking a quick shower and dressing.  Gathering his books he ran down the stairs into the kitchen.  His mother was there, already starting breakfast.  She had found a job the other day cleaning rooms.  Not the best job but it would do until a better opportunity came up.  Remy would try to find a part time job himself after school.

He helped her finish with the simple breakfast of bacon and eggs and saw her off when it was time for her to leave for work.  He would have to walk to the school as she had taken their only vehicle and he left only a few minutes after she had.

#

Roberto walked up behind the Professor, who was sitting at Cerebro, a look of concentration etched over his face.  He looked curiously at the computer's screen but saw nothing out of the ordinary.  The Professor seemed to relax and he let out a frustrated sigh.  Roberto decided to speak up.

"What's going on Professor?"

The Professor turned to regard him.  "Cerebro seems to have detected a new mutant in Bayville."  He sounded aggravated.

"I thought that was supposed to be a good thing," Roberto said confused.

"It would be if I could find him."  Roberto's confusion abruptly doubled.  "Their mind is shielded somehow."  The Professor paused a moment and concentrated again.  "It's almost like… static.  I cannot pinpoint an exact location."

"Anything I can do to help?"  Roberto offered, thinking that the Professor wouldn't take him up on the offer.

"Has there been anyone new at the school?"  Xavier seemed to be contemplating.

"Uh, yeah.  A new guy showed up yesterday," Roberto replied hesitantly.

"Have you noticed anything different about him?"

Roberto snorted.  "Only that he wears sunglasses inside and a trench coat in summer.  You don't think that he's…?"

"It seems likely.  I would like you to try and find out."

Roberto looked at him with huge eyes.  "What?  How am I supposed to do that?"

"Try to talk to him.  Get him to trust you and he may confide in you."

"You can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid that I am.  It will be good for you to meet some new people and it would contribute to the team.  You did offer your assistance," Xavier reminded him somewhat smugly.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd take it," Roberto groused.  He sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat.  "Fine, I'll try to talk to the guy.  I don't think it will work, though."

"And why is that?"

Roberto shifted from foot to foot before answering.  "I might have been a bit of a jerk to him yesterday."

"Well now is your chance to make up for it."  The Professor smiled at the look of disbelief on Roberto's face.  "You had better hurry or you'll be late for school."

Roberto turned and headed dejectedly for the garage, hoping Scott hadn't left yet and would give him a ride as it was too late to start walking.

#

Roberto searched the halls when lunch came around, looking for the new kid, Remy, according to Amara and Jubilee.  He had not bothered to tell the others about the possibility that Remy was a mutant.  If the Professor wanted them to know then he could tell them himself.  Until then he would deal with this on his own, prove to Xavier that he could do it.  If he treated this as yet another challenge then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Not finding Remy in the halls, he headed outside and looked around the grounds.  Finally he spotted Remy sitting alone under one of the tall birch trees that were scattered around.  Roberto was slightly surprised.  He would have expected the guy to be with all the other students, flirting with all the girls with that stupid accent of his.

Roberto gathered his resolve, took a deep breath and slowly approached Remy.  The other boy didn't look up until Roberto's shadow loomed over him.  There was a slight look of irritation on his face and Roberto braced himself for the conversation to come.  It didn't look like this would be easy.  When Roberto couldn't find anything to say Remy took the initiative.

"Can I help y', homme?"  The irritation was clear in his voice.

Roberto tried not to grind his teeth and swallowed his pride.  "I just wanted to… thank you for yesterday.  And say that I'm…" Oh God.  "Sorry for being a jerk," Roberto muttered the last.

Remy smiled as if he didn't really believe him but was willing to let it go.  "It's not a problem."  He seemed to think that would be the end of the conversation and went back to the book he was reading.  Roberto felt a flare of anger that he could be so easily dismissed but forced it back.

"Uh, what book are you reading?"  Oh God, he was so bad at this.  What was the Professor thinking?  He should have gotten Jean or Scott to do this!  Roberto had no clue what to say to this guy and he certainly wasn't good at making friends.

Remy looked up at him again with a frown.  "What do y' want?"  He sounded angry.

Roberto was beginning to get frustrated.  "I was just trying to be nice!  You don't look like you have anyone to hang with!"

"I don' need anyone to 'hang' wit'."  Remy got to his feet and brushed by Roberto, walking away.  Roberto stared after him in astonishment.  Now what was he supposed to do?

#

Remy could sense Roberto's eyes on him as he walked away.  He felt kind of bad for being a prick but socializing was not one of his better traits.  His father had never instilled a great sense of trust in him and he was wary to let others get close.  Besides that, he was a mutant.  Who would want to get close to him?  Only Belle and Emil had fully accepted him and he missed them terribly even if he had spoken with Belle only last night.  Even his mother didn't fully accept him being a mutant, tried to pretend it didn't exist.  He loved her but he knew that she was afraid of, or maybe for him, because of his 'devil' eyes.

He didn't need to bring anyone else into his torrid life; he would just get hurt by it.

#

Kurt and Bobby had to practically elbow their way through the crowds of people just to get to the snack counter at the movie theater.  Bobby had proposed the idea earlier to Kurt that they go out to the movies and Kurt had jumped at the chance to get away somewhere with Bobby.  It was impossible to be alone together at the mansion.  They left the mansion right after dinner, deciding on walking to the theater.

Now that they were finally there, they found themselves standing in line at the snack counter surrounded by a huge crowd.  At least there wasn't anyone here that they knew so it was kinda like being alone together.

"So, you're paying?"  Bobby hinted.

"You asked me, therefore you pay."

"Rats, now I won't be able to pay for the other date I have planned later," Bobby replied jokingly.

Kurt smiled at him.  "Don't worry I'll get the next one."

Bobby quickly paid for the drinks and popcorn as well as the tickets to the movie and they found some seats near the middle where there were less people.  After bickering over who got to hold the popcorn they finally made themselves comfortable as the movie started.  Kurt rested his head on Bobby's shoulder, while Bobby wrapped an arm around his shoulders and rested his cheek on Kurt's head.  They sat like that until the credits came up signaling the end of the movie.

They walked back from the movie talking about all manner of things until they inevitably got into a discussion on what pranks would be the best to pull.  They couldn't decide which would be better; dying Hank glow-in-the-dark pink or putting NAIR in Jean's shampoo.

#

The sound of laughter drifted down the hall and Roberto cocked his head to the side as it came closer.  It was followed a second later by Bobby and Kurt walking quickly down the hall towards him.  The occasional giggle escaped them as they talked in hushed tones about something.  Roberto's eyes widened and he ducked back into his room that he had just come out of.  The two boys passed him without even noticing that he was there.  Roberto stepped back into the hall and watched as they entered Bobby's room.  He wondered if the Professor would allow him to move into a hotel for the next couple of weeks.

He continued on his previous course down the hall, shaking his head and vowing to stay in his room until those two were finished with whatever they were plotting.  He soon found himself in front of Xavier's office and knocked.

"Come in, Roberto."  Roberto did so; he had grown used to the Professor always knowing who it was even without seeing them.  "What can I do for you?"  Xavier asked once Roberto had made himself comfortable in one of the chairs.

"I need to talk to you about that guy you wanted me to speak with.  Remy."

"Is that his name?  What would you like to talk about?"

"Couldn't you get someone else to do this?"  The Professor looked at him quizzically.  "The guy is a total jerk!  He completely blew me off at lunch!  Jean or Scott would be way better with this!"  Roberto had to restrain himself from waving his arms around like a lunatic.

"You can not give up, Roberto.  It takes time to get close to people.  It would do you good to learn some patience."

"I don't have patience!  He doesn't even like me!"  This time Roberto did throw his arms up in exasperation.

"There is probably a reason why he won't talk with you.  You have to look past what a person is willing to show and see what is truly there; do not be so quick to judge."  Roberto was about to protest but the Professor stopped him with a sharp glare.  He thought about what the Professor had said.  If Remy was a mutant then he could be afraid of people, maybe he had been hurt in the past.  Maybe the Professor was right and there was a reason.  Xavier saw the spark of understanding and smiled.  "You will try again?"

Roberto nodded.  "I still think someone else would be better though.  I'm no good at this being friends with people stuff."

"You're better than you think."  Roberto nodded noncommittally and exited the office.  He had to think of a way to get Remy to talk to him.