"Hey."
Fern glanced up from her bowl of pineapple as Sean moved to sit on the floor beside her.
The group had migrated around the room, with the other girls fiddling with the jukebox and Alex and Darwin playing pinball. Hank had gone off to check something in the lab and the mutants were basically just waiting for Charles and Erik to return and quite frankly, give them something to do. Fern had opted to find solace behind the bar, away from Hank's prying questions and the others' less than subtle glances. She was aware the scientist had left, but she still didn't feel quite up to playing nice with the other kids. Plus, being hidden away had given her the opportunity to take off her tensor bandage and she was relishing in the small bout of privacy. Or at least she was, until Sean came along and ruined it for her. The young woman nodded to him, but didn't say anything.
Settling beside her, he crossed his long legs and Fern just knew she wasn't going to get him to go away. Not now that he was comfortable. Resisting the urge to sigh and roll her eyes, the girl merely pursed her lips.
Sean had no problem filling the silence. "You're from Tennessee, right? This must be like, familiar territory for you, huh?"
"What'd you mean?"
"I mean you live right down the street," the redhead explained. He plucked the fork from her gloved hands (she had won them back after arguing that they didn't fit him anyway) and stabbed a piece of pineapple. "I figured you've been here before, haven't you?"
Fern glared at him as he ate one of the few remaining pieces of fruit. It was in her nature to be protective of food; she had been for as long as she could remember. Josie said something about it being a side effect of having been starved before. Fern preferred to think of herself as just greedy. "No. I haven't."
"Oh. Sorry. I just- you and Raven seemed kind of… familiar with each other, so I thought…" He lifted an uncommitted shoulder and offered her a sheepish smile.
Fern's expression struggled to stay hard. It was kind of difficult to be mad at someone who seemed to be genuinely trying to make friends. Letting her mouth soften just a touch, she told him, "We bonded on the plane ride over."
He gaped at her. His thin eyebrows shot up under his shaggy bangs with surprise, then furrowed with irritation. "They gave you a plane?! We had to take a cab!"
From across the room, a playful voice scolded him, "Watch it, Cassidy."
"And what a lovely cab ride it was, Armando!" Sean hopped up to look over the bar. Beaming widely, he called, "I was just singing your praises to the lovely lady, wasn't I, Fe?"
The brunette shook her head. "Not really."
Sean dropped back beside her and gave her shoulder a light shove. When she reached for her fork, he handed it back without complaint. They sat in silence a moment before the young man spoke again, "Seriously. I mean the company was good, but goddamn was it a long ride."
"You're from Texas?" Fern tilted her head and popped a piece of pineapple into her mouth. Then another when she considered that she may be forced to share.
"Well, my family's there, but I've been studying in Georgia."
The young woman nodded and resisted the urge to slap his hand away when he reached for her fork again. Rolling her eyes, she asked if he enjoyed school as the redhead stole another piece of fruit from her bowl.
"It's alright."
"You're studying art, right?"
"Mhm," Sean nodded with a smile. His cheeks going a bit red from the combination of the expression and the sweet tang of the fruit, he rubbed his left one with the heel of his hand.
"Yeah. I mean, I can't draw for shit, but I appreciate those who can."
Fern lifted a brow but didn't look up from the bowl. Still completely and utterly disinterested, she let out a bland, "Huh."
"How about you? What do you do?"
The brunette's voice grew cold as she answered bluntly, "I stay home and try not to get my house burned down by bigots."
Sean's brows rose and his cheeks colored once more; this time from embarrassment. "Oh, right, I kind of forgot about the whole…" He waved his hand in front of his face with a grimace that had nothing to do with her appearance and everything to do with his lack of tact. "I guess you probably don't get out much, huh?"
Fern stared at him a long moment. He forgot? How the hell could he forget? At her staring, Sean's pale features managed to get red enough to rival his hair before she shook her head. With a blink, she looked down at her bowl. "Uh, no. Not really. I mean, my aunt lets me check out her restaurant sometimes, but like, I can't go into town."
Sean eyed her intently a moment. It was hard to read her expression, her scales shifting and twinkling even in the dim light under the bar. "Not without trouble, huh?"
She nodded and pursed her lips. The membrane flickered over her eyes and a familiar burn pulled at her throat. It amazed her that something as simple as an understanding tone from a boy she barely knew could pull that kind of reaction from her, but she said nothing as Sean went on.
"Does, I mean…" The redhead faltered a bit, eying her with a hint of trepidation. "Was last night kind of a common occurrence for you?"
Fern didn't say anything. Just made a point of eating another piece of pineapple and not looking at him.
Message received, the redhead nodded. The two sat in silence a few moments, listening to the pinball machine ping over Chubby Checker's The Twist. It didn't last and Sean broke the quiet between them with an obvious question. "So, why are you back here anyway?"
"I don't know." Fern shrugged. Her blue eyes flitted over to the redhead's open features and she relented. There was no harm in telling the truth, the young woman supposed. "I'm not used to being around so many people. Makes me feel…"
"Overstimulated?"
She shifted with discomfort. Skin rippling from a dark grey to an ashy hue, she lifted a shoulder. "I was gonna say weird, but yeah, that works."
Sean nodded and smacked his hands on his thighs. "Okay then. I'll leave you to it."
Fern's eyes grew as he stood. "You're not offended?"
He glanced down at her surprised expression and smiled. "Of course not. We'll be out there when you're ready to hang with the rest of us, okay?"
The young woman beamed at him. Nodding, she agreed, "Okay."
With a playful wink, Sean bowed out from behind the bar.
Fern watched him go with a small smile on her lips. Fiddling with the sleeves of her white tunic, she leaned back against the bar. For a few hours, the grey girl contented herself with listening to the pinball machine ping and the radio. After deciding that she had isolated herself long enough, Fern tightened her braids and made her way out to join the others.
Alex and Armando were still playing pinball, but Hank had returned. He was seated beside Sean, across from Angel and Raven. It was the blonde who noticed her reappearance first.
"Hey!" Raven beamed at Fern and patted the seat next to her on the couch. "Come sit with us!"
"Three to a couch is too many," Fern told her as she flopped into the chair beside Sean.
The blonde rolled her eyes, but the smile remained on her lips. "Well, glad to see you've come out of your hovel."
The Ailey smirked at her and inclined her head with a hint of sarcasm. "Thanks."
From the couch, the boys shared a smirk. Popping another Oreo in his mouth, Sean took the package and offered it to Fern.
Angel turned to the young woman beside her. Brushing a strand of her black hair behind her ear, she asked, "When do you think Charles will be back?"
Fern wrinkled her nose at the boy and politely shook her head.
"I think they're due back in the morning," Raven answered, lifting the mug of tea to her lips.
Sean pursed his lips. Jabbing the package in Fern's direction, he made a point of chewing extra slowly as he frowned at her.
"Wow, that soon?" Hank's brows rose. Pointedly ignoring the couple beside him, he pushed his glasses up. "You must be excited to see him; you two made up, right?"
Raven's gaze flickered over to the redhead and the grey girl as they silently bickered. After staring at them a long moment with a hint of judgement, she looked back to find Hank looking at her expectantly. "Mhm."
Shaking the bag, Sean ignored the conversation going on around them. When Fern rolled her eyes at him, he shook it more violently. Frowning, he demanded, "Take one."
"No."
"Take one!"
"Oh my god, fine!" Snatching a cookie from the package, Fern glared at him. As she waved it in front of his face, she snapped, "Happy?!"
Looking entirely too pleased with himself, Sean leaned back and smiled smugly. "Yes."
The girl shook her head and let out a grunt of annoyance. As she glared at the cookie, she pulled her legs up onto the seat. Fern had never actually had Oreos, or any other store bought brand of cookie before. Josie had always said if she wanted cookies, she could make them her damn self; they'd be twice as good and half the cost. Sniffing at it, she lifted the cookie to her lips and took a tentative bite. Fern cringed. It was the sweetest thing she had ever eaten and she wasn't sure she'd be able to stomach finishing it.
"Woah!" A voice cut through her thoughts and she looked to the window to find two agents peering in at them. "I didn't know the circus was in town!"
As the others glared (no doubt not used to staring or ridicule), Fern saw this as an opportunity. Thankful for the distraction, as derogatory as it may be, Fern spit the cookie into her hand and dropped the remnants behind the couch.
"Hey, honey," the agent called to Angel. "Give us a little-"
He mimed her wings and the petite brunette let out a scoff of disgust. Fern vaguely wondered how it was he knew what her specific mutation was as she wiped her gloved hand on her tunic, staining the white cotton with Oreo crumbs. Scowling, she shot a glare at Hank as he stood.
"No?" The man mocked. He looked to Hank with a cruel grin. "Let's see the foot. Come on, Big Foot, let's go."
The bespectacled man waved at them and yanked the cord that closed the drapes. When he came back to sit on the couch, Sean offered him a limp smile.
Raven's gaze stayed trained on the window a long moment. When Angel slammed her tea cup down, the blonde turned her attention to the petite brunette. "They're just guys being stupid."
"Guys being stupid I can handle, okay," Angel replied briskly. "I've been handling that my whole life, but I'd rather have guys stare at me with my clothes off than the way these ones stare at me."
"At us," Raven corrected sadly.
Fern let out a snort of laughter. Wiping af cookie crumbs from the corner of her mouth, she shook her head. "Yeah, because when they do it, it's rude. When you two do it, it's okay, right?"
Angel pursed her lips. Glaring at the grey girl, she snapped, "What's that supposed to mean? We are nothing like them."
Hank kept his head down as the girls got more vocal. Raven fiddled with the hem of her skirt, but she too couldn't find the words to speak as the Ailey girl laughed once more.
"Really, can I touch them girl? You're feeling a little objectified over your mutation?" Fern squinted at her then at Raven. Getting more heated, she felt her skin darken and twist with rage. How fucking dare they? How dare they play the victim to their mutation when they could so easily fit into society. One rude comment and Raven was misty eyed and Angel was acting like she had been personally attacked. They knew absolutely nothing about having to hide. Especially Raven. Baring her sharp, inhuman teeth, Fern rounded on the young woman, "And what the fuck do you have to complain about, blondie? You can look however you want. You're hiding right fucking now and you have the fucking gall to say that they're staring at you?!"
"Just because we're not some grey skinned freak doesn't mean we're not victimized!" Angel sneered at her, the back of her throat burning with the urge to spit.
"I know that! But you've been victimized for the past ten minutes and you're acting like a freaking martyr!" Fern laughed, cold and harsh as she stood. "You don't know anything at being stared at, Angel. None of you do."
Sean watched her go with pursed lips, but didn't get up to follow her as she stormed out of the room. He remembered what she had said about needing space and didn't want to intrude; plus, he hadn't forgotten that she could somehow put someone in a coma, and he really didn't want to mess with that.
"I can't believe she said that." Angel swallowed. Pursing her lips, she fought to keep her voice steady and keep the irritation out of it, "Just because our mutations aren't…so obvious-"
"You mean you're not a freak?" Sean asked with a hint of frustration. This was supposed to be a safe place. They were supposed to be making friends. Sure, Fern had been out of line, but there was a difference between venting frustration and purposely jabbing at something obviously touchy.
The brunette glared at him.
"That was kind of mean, Angel." Raven frowned, a hint of a blush coming to her cheeks as the brunette shifted her scowl to her.
Hurt and angry, Angel snapped, "What, you agree with her?"
"Well, no, but…it's different," the blonde explained, albeit a bit awkwardly. Lifting a shoulder, she let her eyes drop to her fiddling fingers. "When you look…different, like we do."
Angel scoffed at her. "You don't look different right now, Raven. It's not like you had to explain why you were a fourteen year old with tattoos!"
"I know." Raven bit her bottom lip, but kept her gaze down. "It's just-"
They paused as a strange sound filled the air. Darwin looked up and Alex paused. Hank and Sean shared a look as the girls frowned.
In the hall, Fern slowed her steps. Frowning, she made her way over to one of the large windows that lined the walls. Curious fingers pulled one of the curtains back and she glanced around the empty courtyard. She could see the others doing the same from the rec room and lifted a shoulder in a shrug and raised a hand to convey she had no idea what was going on as she met Raven's gaze.
Their curiosity was sated as a body crashed to the ground between them.
A/N: Shout out to my wonderful beta; Linda Ku for all her help!